The Order (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A series of bank robberies and car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest. A lone FBI agent believes that the crimes were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists.

My Take – While most of us would prefer to keep an open mind about people and be blind to the color of one’s skin, sadly that is not the case for some folks. Particularly those who associate themselves with white supremacy and actually still believe that white people are superior to other races and are ready to go to extreme lengths to prove that.

This latest from director Justin Kurzel (The True History of the Kelly Gang, Assassin’s Creed) shines the light on one such individual: Bob Matthews. Who along with his group terrorized the 1980s Pacific Northwest by robbing banks and by murdering a Denver based Jewish popular radio host, as they planned an overthrow of the U.S. government.

Adapted by writer Zach Baylin (King Richard) from the non-fiction book ‘The Silent Brotherhood ‘ by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, the dramatized account imagines the whole event something like a mixture of American History X (1998) and Heat (1995). Resulting in a gem of the throwback thriller with a strong sense of place that’ll hook you from start to finish.

Backed by a tight script, effective characterizations and action sequences that crackle, the finished film belongs in the same category of those classic hard-boiled flicks we don’t see around a lot anymore.

Sure, it is not too original narrative wise and given its fact-based nature and political relevance, it could have done a lot more, yet the sturdy film making assures that we remain on a very effective and functionally old-school fun ride throughout.

Taking place 1983 and 1984, the story follows Terry Husk (Jude Law), a weathered FBI Agent assigned to a long-forgotten field office in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. The entire area is kind of empty and is populated more with fliers promoting white power ideology than people. Soon enough, the skilled agent with 26 years’ experience of chasing mafias and other misguided group of criminals, to the detriment of his absent wife and daughters, begins an investigation into the supremacist groups that operate in the region.

With local insight from sheriff’s deputy Jamie Brown (Tye Sheridan), and support from his colleague, fellow FBI vet Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett), Husk works to uncover the link between a string of bank robberies and pipe bomb explosions and an Aryan Nation splinter group led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult).

But what Mathews is building goes beyond criminal chaos. Passionately following the twisted ideology promoted in ‘The Turner Diaries’, a white nationalist novel that promotes domestic terror and a racial reckoning, Mathews has been recruiting and teaching youngsters to shoot, proclaiming that they are in a race war against the government.

Here, director Kurzel has crafted a solid film; there are well-turned action sequences and on-the-nose dramatic beats about white-power fanatics pursuing their gruesome dream while the sweaty, unhappy good guys obsess about the job and neglect their families. While highly effective as docudrama, it is also briskly compelling as a straight-down-the-line detective thriller, especially in its action sequences.

The robbery scenes, especially a road assault on a money van have a clean, propulsive urgency that recalls that of vintage thrillers, and when the film broods, it really broods, as in a sequence by a river where Husk has a stag in his gunsights, while Mathews has his own sights on him.

The film does effectively contain most of the clichés as seen in such kind of films; the grizzled veteran, the rookie cop, a black police captain, justice being slow-to-act, bad-cop interrogation, going in without backup, and a dark showdown. Surprisingly, instead of avoid them, it leans on them hard, probably to reflect on the time it is based.

However, it’s a shame that the script doesn’t take the opportunity to divulge further into the themes presented, given the timely nature of the film with neo-Nazism on the rise and mass shootings happening every day in America.

Nevertheless, director Kurzel capitalizes on his authentic 80s stylization, with classic outfits and vehicles, fashioning a moody, lived-in, smart thriller, contemplative in its purposeful pacing but also propulsive in its cascade of violence, with an ominous score beneath the surface.

Performances wise, Jude Law is incredibly watchable. With his mustachioed appearance, he channels the energy of iconic film coppers with a self-destructive streak. He weighs down his character’s features with burnout and belief equally. Nicholas Hoult, not just physically resembles the real Robert “Bob” Mathews, he combines menace with the extremist’s documented charm, allowing him to showcase his range brilliantly. Tye Sheridan is fantastic and nails his character’s relatable traits.

Though Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver and Odessa Young are underused, they are thoroughly effective. Marc Maron is also great here in a small role as Alan Berg, the real-life radio phone-in host whose defiant tilts at the racists and anti-Semites establish the film’s theme. On the whole, ‘The Order’ is a compelling throwback thriller that captivates with its intense action sequences and strong performances.