Law and ‘Order’ prove to be winning combination
It’s tempting to dub Jude Law’s portrayal of an obsessed FBI agent in the factual – and disturbing – “The Order” as arresting. But in this instance, that’s not entirely true considering Law’s lawman, Terry Husk, doesn’t capture his prime suspect alive. But that’s not a bad thing, considering the depth of low-fi evil rising up from Nicholas Hoult’s baby-faced Bob Mathews, a devout white supremacist whose goal of triggering a race war doesn’t end well.
He literally goes down in flames inside his island hideout near Freeland, Washington. But his violent brand of neo-Nazism didn’t die with him in December 1984. It lives on, arguably stronger than ever, infiltrating our increasingly vile political rhetoric to the point of becoming mainstream. I’m sure that was a lure for both Law and Aussie director Justin Kurzel (“Macbeth”) when they committed to recreating the hate that fueled Mathews’ elaborate campaign to rob banks and armored cars in the furtherance of his white nationalist agenda.
In the early 1980s, Mathews became so dangerous that none other than Aryan Nation founder Richard Butler (Victor Slezak) condemned the young man’s actions, which included assassinating Denver-based shock jock Alan Berg (Marc Maron) in a brutal ambush. Berg’s crime: Daring to vociferously denounce the growing menace of anti-Semitism. But that was just the beginning of Mathew’s master-race master plan.
What renders Hoult’s take on him so scary is the vaneer of “normalcy” Bob Mathews projects with his calm demeanor and deep affection for friends and family. Well, as long as they are white, Christian and submissive to his outrageous demands. Hoult’s gift is his infectious charm, whether in the shoes of a hero or villain. As much as you attempt to resist, you’re drawn to the actor and his seriously misguided character. There’s real passion there, making it easy to understand why Mathews had such a hold over his followers.
He’s the opposite of Law’s jaded, booze-loving Agent Husk, a recent transplant seeking to escape the unrelenting chaos of hunting down ruthless mobsters and Ku Klux Klan sympathizers back East. It cost him his family and his sobriety. And you see it in the physicality of Law’s performance. Gone are the matinee idol looks, replaced by a tired, weatherbeaten man of sorrow with no bridges left to burn. It’s a total commitment like I’ve rarely seen from him.
Is it any wonder then that the few times Law and Hoult come face to face are when Kurzel’s film is at its most riveting? You rightly suspect neither of their characters is going to get out alive. Same for Husk’s unlikely new partner, Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan), an idealistic local sheriff’s deputy who, like Husk, is appalled by the lack of urgency shown by his superiors when it comes to Mathews and his violent splinter group, the Order.
Some have compared “The Order” to HBO’s “True Detective.” And it’s an apt one, given the sense of dread unfolding amid the picturesque backdrops that juxtapose the beauty of nature with the darkness of men’s hearts. The demons are everywhere you look. If there’s an ounce of goodness, it’s delivered by the film’s two female leads: Jurnee Smollett as Husk’s fellow FBI agent, Joanne Carney, and Alison Oliver as Mathew’s infertile wife, Debbie.
Whereas Smollett is stuck playing a stock caricature of a woman peace officer in the 1980s, Oliver is rewarded with a part that serves as the film’s moral compass. She loves her husband and wants to believe in him, but she begins to have doubts when she observes him teaching their very young adoptive son how to fire a semi-automatic weapon. Like just about everyone in “The Order” she’s in a battle for her soul – and she’s losing the war.
It’s very Shakespearean, and it falls directly in Kurzel’s wheelhouse after having directed 2015’s “Macbeth,” except this time the roles are reversed, with husband as murderer and wife as the gullible accomplice. It’s almost as intriguing as the arc Husk follows to discover he’s human after all.
Most of Law’s portrayal is quiet and subdued, which makes it even more startling when he goes ballistic on one of Mathews’ minions who’s been arrested for counterfeiting. Husk plucks down next to the suddenly not-so-powerful perp in his holding cell, inching closer to him as he interrogates him. Soon he’s squeezing the kid against the bars, his enraged face pressed tight against the guy’s cheek, coercing the shaken punk to spill all he knows. It’s fierce and utterly compelling, venturing way beyond the limited scope of a screenplay by newcomer Gary Gerhardt and script doctor Zach Baylin (“King Richard”).
There are moments when events are so on the nose you groan in response. But for the most part, you’re fully invested in the hair-trigger scenario created by Law and Hoult as we’re asked to contemplate the ugliest of American stereotypes in the framework of an old-fashioned gritty procedural that compels you to think as much as it entertains. Are Oscar nominations in order for “The Order”? Likely not, but that doesn’t make this shameless genre flick any less notable. It’s timely, vibrant and terrifying.
Movie review
The Order
Rated: R for language throughout and some strong violence
Cast: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Marc Maron, Alison Oliver and Victor Slezak
Director: Justin Kurzel
Writers: Gary Gerhardt and Zach Baylin
Runtime: 116 minutes
Where: In theaters Dec. 6 (limited)
Grade: B
