The Order (2024 film)

Canadian film by Justin Kurzel

The Order

American theatrical release poster

Directed by| Justin Kurzel
Screenplay by| Zach Baylin
Based on|

The Silent Brotherhood

* Kevin Flynn
* Gary Gerhardt

Produced by|

* Bryan Haas
* Stuart Ford
* Justin Kurzel
* Jude Law

Starring|

* Jude Law
* Nicholas Hoult
* Tye Sheridan
* Jurnee Smollett
* Alison Oliver
* Marc Maron

Cinematography| Adam Arkapaw
Edited by| Nick Fenton
Music by| Jed Kurzel

Production
companies

* AGC Studios
* Chasing Epic Pictures
* Riff Raff Entertainment
* Arcana Studio[1]

Distributed by| Amazon MGM Studios (under Prime Video)

Release dates

* August 31, 2024 (2024-08-31) (Venice)
* December 6, 2024 (2024-12-06) (United States)

Running time

| 116 minutes[2]
Country| Canada[2][3]
Language| English
Box office| $2.3 million[4][5]

The Order is a 2024 Canadian action thriller film directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin, based on the 1989 non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America's Violent, Anti-Government Militia Movement by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt. The film revolves around an FBI agent who goes after a white supremacist terrorist group known as the Order that was active in the United States in the 1980s. It stars Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, and Marc Maron.

The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2024, where it competed for the Golden Lion. It will later be digitally released internationally on Prime Video.

## Plot

[edit]

In 1983, Bruce Pierce and Gary Yarbrough lure Walter West out into the woods at night under the ruse of a hunting trip, and murder him.

Veteran FBI agent Terry Husk reopens the long-vacant field office in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, looking for an easier caseload after working on investigations of the Ku Klux Klan and La Cosa Nostra, and hoping he can persuade his estranged wife and daughter to reconnect with him.

In Spokane, Washington, Bob Mathews, Pierce, Yarbrough, and David Lane rob a Washington Mutual branch. Mathews then visits his pregnant mistress and later his wife, giving each bags of cash from the robbery.

After reviewing a case file on Aryan Nations and its founder Richard Butler, Husk introduces himself to the local sheriff's department and meets Deputy Jamie Bowen, who offers to show him to Butler's compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Bowen, who has a mixed-race family, tells Husk that West, now missing for several weeks, is a childhood friend and member of Aryan Nations who told him the group is counterfeiting money. Bowen suspects that the group is also responsible for a recent synagogue bombing, as well as a string of robberies, including the one in Spokane. Husk meets with fellow FBI agent Joanne Carney, who tells him that a failed bomb was found in a pornography shop in Spokane around the same time as the robbery. West's wife points Husk and Bowen to where Pierce and Yarbrough took him hunting, and discover his body in a shallow grave.

Husk and Bowen visit Butler at his compound, who tells them that he ejected Pierce and Yarbrough from Aryan Nations for using the group's printing press to counterfeit, and denies knowledge of their subsequent activities. As they leave, Husk notices a book on display in the compound's church, of which a copy was also present at the scene of West's murder. Butler identifies it as the white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries. Afterwards, Butler confronts Mathews about his splinter group's activities. While Butler seeks to work within the law and elect white supremacists to public office, Mathews aims to promote white separatism through domestic terrorism. Butler has his assistant deliver a copy of The Turner Diaries to Bowen's home, hoping to tip off police to Mathews' plan.

Yarbrough bombs a pornographic theater as a distraction for Mathews to lead the robbery of an armored truck. Refusing to wait for backup, Husk attempts to stop the robbery but is outnumbered, while Bowen freezes and does not engage, angering Husk.

While elk hunting, Husk realizes he's being watched by Mathews, who he does not yet recognize. They speak, and Mathews subtly threatens him before leaving.

Bowen studies The Turner Diaries, and explains to Husk that he believes the splinter group, now calling itself The Order, is using the novel as a blueprint for overthrowing the federal government and igniting a race war. Mathews sends Pierce to Denver to assassinate Alan Berg, a Jewish talk radio host who frequently spars on-air with antisemites that call into his show. Mathews leads another armored truck robbery in Ukiah, California. A gun dropped at the crime scene leads police to Tony Torres, a new recruit who straw purchased guns for Mathews. Torres turns informant and leads police to a meeting with Mathews. Husk once again does not wait for backup and attempts to arrest Mathews, triggering a shootout; this time Bowen springs into action and provides covering fire. Yarbrough is apprehended, and Mathews shoots Bowen as he makes his escape. Husk abandons the chase to try to save Bowen, but he quickly succumbs to his injuries.

Mathews retreats with Pierce and Lane to his safe house on Whidbey Island, Washington, planning to "declare war" on the federal government and stage a major terrorist attack. Husk and Carney lead an FBI raid on the house. Pierce and Lane try to escape and are immediately apprehended, while Mathews makes a stand, repelling the FBI as they attempt to storm the house. Husk orders the house burned to force Mathews out, and when he fails to emerge, Husk enters alone, hoping to persuade Mathews to surrender. Mathews refuses, and Husk is forced to retreat when the fire detonates a large cache of ammunition.

After the raid, Husk goes hunting. As he trains his rifle on the same elk from earlier, the film ends. A postscript explains that the real-life Mathews perished in the fire and his associates were imprisoned, and that The Turner Diaries has inspired numerous other acts of domestic terror, including the Oklahoma City bombing and the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

## Cast

[edit]

* Jude Law as Terry Husk, an FBI agent
* Nicholas Hoult as Bob Mathews
* Tye Sheridan as Jamie Bowen, a young local police officer
* Jurnee Smollett as Joanne Carney, an FBI agent.[6]
* Alison Oliver as Debbie Mathews, Bob's wife
* Marc Maron as Alan Berg, a Jewish radio host
* Odessa Young as Zillah Craig, Bob's lover
* Huxley Fisher as Clinton Mathews, Bob's son
* Sebastian Pigott as Bruce Pierce, a perpetrator
* Phillip Forest Lewitski as David Lane, a perpetrator
* Matias Lucas as Tony Torres, a perpetrator
* George Tchortov as Gary Yarbrough
* Victor Slezak as Richard Butler, a minister
* Philip Granger as Loftlinm, the sheriff
* Daniel Doheny as Walter West

## Production

[edit]

In February 2023, it was announced that Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult would star in The Order, directed by Justin Kurzel from a screenplay by Zach Baylin based on The Silent Brotherhood, a 1989 non-fiction book by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt. Law would also produce with Kurzel, while Baylin would executive produce.[7] In May 2023, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Odessa Young, Alison Oliver and Marc Maron joined the cast.[8][9]

Filming began in May 2023, in Alberta, Canada.[8][10]

## Release

[edit]

Cast and crew of the movie "The Order" at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, 2024.

The Order had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2024, where it competed for the Golden Lion.[11] Amazon Prime Video will distribute in multiple international territories excluding the United States.[12] In May 2024, Vertical acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and released it on December 6, 2024 in a limited theatrical release.[13][14]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 129 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "A stoic Jude Law and diabolically good Nicholas Hoult turn the tides of history in this grippingly intense thrill ride."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]

Tim Grierson of Screen International wrote that the film was "always skillfully choreographed but never showy".[17] Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline Hollywood characterized the film as a "sweeping slice of political Americana".[6] Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a gripping true story of American violence".[18]

## See also

[edit]

Brotherhood of Murder

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (August 31, 2024). "The Order Review: Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult in an Explosive Crime Drama About the White-Supremacist Cult of the 1980s". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
2. ^ a b "Biennale Cinema 2024 | The Order". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
3. ^ Grierson, Tim. "The Order: Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
4. ^ "The Order (2024)". Nash Information Services. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
5. ^ "The Order (2024)". Nash Information Services. The Numbers. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
6. ^ a b Bunbury, Stephanie (August 31, 2024). "The Order Review: Jude Law Shines In Justin Kurzel's Brilliantly-Shot, Sweeping Slice Of Political Americana — Venice Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
7. ^ "Jude Law & Nicholas Hoult To Star In True Crime Pic 'The Order' About Domestic Terror Group The Silent Brotherhood For Director Justin Kurzel & AGC Studios – EFM Hot Package". Deadline. February 3, 2023. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
8. ^ a b "Tye Sheridan Joins Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult In Justin Kurzel's Crime Thriller 'The Order'For AGC Studios". May 2, 2023. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
9. ^ "Alison Oliver, Jurnee Smollett, Marc Maron & Odessa Young Board Crime Thriller 'The Order' from AGC Studios". May 8, 2023. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
10. ^ "'The One': HanWay Films Boards Erotic Horror Starring Melissa Barrera & Nicholas Hoult". May 9, 2023. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
11. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2024 | the Order". July 16, 2024.
12. ^ "Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult Pic 'The Order,' About U.S. White Supremacist Group, Sells to Prime Video for International (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. February 18, 2023. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
13. ^ Grobar, Matt (May 16, 2024). "Justin Kurzel's True Crime Thriller 'The Order' Starring Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult & Tye Sheridan Acquired By Vertical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
14. ^ "The Order (2024) - Financial Information". The Numbers. August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
15. ^ "The Order". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
16. ^ "The Order". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
17. ^ Grierson, Tim (August 31, 2024). "The Order: Venice Review". Screen International. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
18. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (August 31, 2024). "The Order Review: Jude Law Faces Down a Gang of Neo-Nazi Bandits in Justin Kurzel's Riveting Real-Life Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Order at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Justin Kurzel

* Snowtown (2011)
* The Turning (2013)
* Macbeth (2015)
* Assassin's Creed (2016)
* True History of the Kelly Gang (2019)
* Nitram (2021)
* The Order (2024)

Portals:

* Film
* Canada
* Crime
* 2020s
* United States
* History
* 1980s

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