An entertaining cat and mouse game between the law and the neo-Nazi group.
With movies like “Heat” or “Hell or High Water,” we get riveting perspectives from both the bank robbers and law enforcers. “The Order” is in the same genre, but retells the true story of how the neo-Nazi terrorist organization known as the Order were robbing banks and armored trucks, and counterfeiting bills to fund their sinister plans to make an all white America, and how they murdered the Jewish radio host Alan Berg.
The time is the early 80s (between 1983 and 1984), the place is in the Pacific Northwest, and the movie also reminds us on the Order’s charismatic leader Robert Jay Matthews, who is played here by Nicholas Hoult. He has been recruiting white families for his organization and willing to change America.
I’ve looked up some info on this infamous figure. He got the name the Order as inspiration from the 1978 novel “The Turner Diaries,” written by National Alliance founder William Luther Pierce. And we also see him cheating on his infertile wife Debbie (Allison Oliver) with his mistress Zillah (Odessa Young). Hoult (who was just in “Juror No. 2” and will appear in “Nosferatu”) delivers this real life villain with a searing vibe.
The movie’s law enforcers come in the form of the troubled Idaho-based FBI agent Terry Tusk (Jude Law, also a producer), the young local cop Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan), and the tough-as-nails FBI agent (Jurnee Smollett). Directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin (who based the screenplay on the book “The Silent Brotherhood” by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt), their dialogue and characterization is strong in representing their task of connecting the robberies to the Order, and how they handle whatever happens.
But it’s mostly Tusk and Bowen who earn our attention with their own issues. The FBI agent has estranged daughters, while the young cop wants to be taken seriously in this case. He earns his respect later on. I remember Sheridan playing a cop last Spring in “Asphalt City,” so that’s twice this year I’ve praised him as someone with that job. And Law matches his character with the mustache, American accent, and tone.
Marc Maron is also entertaining in his small role of Alan Berg, who talks on the radio about his atheistic and liberal views, and his hatred against the racists and how they depict Jewish people. His speech on what that word means to them is quite expressive, and the comedian continues to broaden his acting (you should also see him in “To Leslie” if you want an example).
Even though certain sections of the film at be hard to follow, I still was able to acknowledge what the film is trying to convey. It’s always going to be mentioned that history repeats itself with racism, which is unfortunately true, and that’s certainly the case with “The Order.”
Even though I have never heard of these neo-Nazis before, I still think this dramatization never exploits this true event, and allows us to see the good guys and bad guys and how they go through life. And even though the robbers here are racists, I was still reminded of “Heat” and “Hell or High Water” for those reasons. There’s usually a character study on both sides, and the performances from Law, Hoult, and Sheridan are all riveting. All the conversations, arguments, robberies, and arrests are provocatively filmed and acted, and the pacing merges with the entertaining vibe.
Kurzel and Baylin both retell this story with haunting and dangerous aspects, and they guide the right actors to nail their roles. It’s a movie that you’re able to sit at the edge of your seat with anticipation and a lot to think about afterwards.
