The Order (dir. Justin Kurzel)

By: Adam Freed

There is nothing as cancerous to the soul of a nation like the corrosive spread of hatred.  Long before America was infected by Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, the Pacific Northwest gave rise to a white supremecist organization that called themselves The Order.  By the early 1980’s The Order was fueled by violent intent, and was educated by a doctrine outlined in “The Turner Diaries,” a brief six-step manifesto in which the Aryan Brotherhood set out to take over the federal government.  This “truth is stranger than fiction” story unfolds in director Justin Kurzel’s wonderfully topical and entertaining film The Order.  The Australian director is very direct about the connections he sees between the 40 year old story depicted in his film and the current culture war taking place on American soil.  Armed with an outstanding cast and a magnificent filming location, The Order packages a very clear statement within the confines of a pulse pounding two hour thrillride.  

Leading the investigation into the white anarchist group is agent Terry Husk, a burly lawman played in chameleon-like form by Jude Law, who also produces the film.  Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Holiday) disappears into the role of Husk, a man driven by the eradication of hate.  Standing in opposition to Husk is “The Order” frontman Bob Matthews.  Matthews is captured manically by the outstanding Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite, Juror #2). The pair of generationally diverse British sex symbols, Hoult and Law make for compelling foes in the enjoyable investigative crime drama.  What pushes Hoult’s performance into the realm of memorable is the passion and eerie believability with which he professes his specific doctrine of hate.  Matthews as a character is a charismatic and capable leader, one that seduces misguided white youth in the way that a serpent may hypnotize prey with its eyes.

The Order is filmed in Ontario, Canada, a visually majestic backdrop captured skillfully by cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.  Justin Kurzel’s film is a rare example though of one that provides far more visual intrigue at a distance than it does from within the numerous offices and rural dwellings in which the film’s action is set.  To this extent, the most interesting interior visual components of the period specific film are captured in the diametrically opposed eyes of its protagonist and antagonist.  The Order serves a dual purpose, first to divulge a fascinating story of a white supremacist anarchist group that created the blueprint for a civilian attack on the United States government.  The secondary purpose of Justin Kurzel’s film though is far more haunting.  Armed with the playbook outlined in “The Turner Diaries” Timothy McVeigh killed hundreds of Americans in Oklahoma City in 1995.  This same manual informed some of those that attacked the U.S. Capital on January 6, 2021.  The Order is a call to attention for Americans to realize that there is no future in divisive extremism, yet there are more extremist groups active in The United States today than there were forty years ago.  It shouldn’t take an Australian director and British producer to illuminate for a domestic audience the glaring truth that the cauldron of America's racially divisive past is once again beginning to simmer, but that is exactly what The Order accomplishes with ease.          

Target Score: 7/10  The Order is the true story of an American extremist group set to overthrow the federal government in the early 1980’s.  The true crime saga is a magnetic tug-of-war of performances between Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult.  Director Justin Kurzel pulls no punches with his film in issuing a stern warning that America’s haunted past is due to repeat itself.