THE ORDER

August 31, 2024

justin kurzel, jude law, nicholas hoult, tye sheridan, the order

Words by JANE CROWTHER


Justin Kurzel adds to his cinematic rebel poems with another gorgeously-lensed look at a real-life disruptor and his skewed ideals. After tackling outliers in The True History Of The Kelly Gang and Nitrum, the director turns his attention to Bob Mathews, an eighties white power leader whose rhetoric in Reagan-era America threatened to metastasize to civil unrest and polarisation. Like his previous historical films, Kurtzel’s latest boasts a disquieting pertinence to current events and cultural leaders…

justin kurzel, jude law, nicholas hoult, tye sheridan, the order

Focusing on Mathews (Nicholas Hoult) as he tries to build a white supremacy army in 1983-4 via bank robberies, bombings and assassinations as well as the broken FBI agent, Terry Husk (Jude Law) tracking him, The Order shows two men who are only divided by the law in their obsessions. The radical offspring of a hate-preacher, Mathews is charismatic, unfaithful and blinkered in his pursuit of an Aryan America as he recruits and seduces. His wife and mistress are secondary to the excitement he feels carrying out his six-step to domination, his bank robberies (thrillingly executed in nail-biting interludes) a high. Husk is damaged goods – a chain-smoking, gum chewing blunt instrument with a drink problem, he’s survived an incident in New York and has transferred to the quiet of Idaho in the hopes of ‘putting back the pieces’. His wife and children are secondary to his quarry, silently admonishing via unanswered phone calls he makes as he digs into white power in the state. When the local nous of a deputy sheriff (Tye Sheridan) links a couple of leads, Husk realises he has a bigger case on his hands and brings in a bureau former colleague to start a manhunt. As the film toggles between Mathews and Husk, it becomes a cat-and-mouse thriller – with Mathews getting sloppy and Husk getting (literally) messy as old injuries plague him. 

justin kurzel, jude law, nicholas hoult, tye sheridan, the order

It’s a retro presentation; the eighties production design, costumes and lensing recalling numerous previous examples of the genre. And that’s no bad thing. Law’s Husk is straight from the Popeye Doyle school of big swings and delicious to watch, even his constant gum-chewing informs his characterisation. Sheridan is the heart of the picture providing an emotional moment that hurts, and Hoult nails the blue-eyed fanaticism of a man who may tell his mates to stop burning crosses but can’t see the inevitability of his actions. Jed Kurzel’s thrumming score soars as high as the camera, swooping above stunning Idaho and Washington state vistas to show the beauty of the country Mathews is fighting so hard to control.  

End credit notes tell us that the text used by Mathews has been utilised repeatedly since by far-right groups as a blueprint for their activities – including the most recent storming of the Capitol. It’s a stark reminder that though this picture plays like a slice of vintage filmmaking, the beliefs at the centre of the story are very much still relevant. As an audience, Kurzel asks us which side of the ideological line we choose to stand on. Powerful stuff.

justin kurzel, jude law, nicholas hoult, tye sheridan, the order

Words by JANE CROWTHER
The Order is in cinemas now

TRENDING

Babak Anvari, Hallow Road, Matthew Rhys, Megan McDonnell, Rosamund Pike

HALLOW ROAD

Student Alice is used to being picked up and brushed off by her parents whenever she stumbles

Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Ruth E. Carter, Selma

RUTH E. CARTER

The trailblazing, award-winning costume designer, who has worked with filmmakers from Spike Lee…

BUY

You may also like…

cillian murphy, oppenheimer, golden globes, golden globe awards 2024, 81st golden globe awards

GOLDEN GLOBES 2024

Hollywood Authentic reports from inside the 81st Golden Globes, Los Angeles, where Greg Williams was given unprecedented access. Here we report on the evening’s highlights.

conclave, isabella rossolini, john lithgow, lucian msamati, ralph fiennes, stanley tucci

CONCLAVE

Words by JANE CROWTHER On paper, Conclave does not sound like a thrilling and slyly comedic drama. Adapted from Robert Harris’ novel, it’s a film that revels in the minutiae and pedantry of pomp and ceremony. In Vatican City, the Pope has departed for the pearly gates, prompting church cardinals from around the globe to gather

anya-taylor-joy, furiosa, george miller, screening room

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA

For years, George Miller’s post-apocalyptic saga has been all about Max Rockatansky. The Road Warrior – first played by Mel Gibson…