The Order

I had the privilege of viewing this at a mystery screening last night. It's really good. My friend and I both noted that it not only takes place in the 1980s but also feels like it was filmed in the 1980s. All the leads did excellent jobs. And Jude Law sports a very sexy dad bod.

One of those low key films that you go into not knowing much about and it turns out to be fantastic. Great direction, great cinematography, great acting.

Based on true events, this story is dark and heavy, with a constant atmosphere of tension throughout. The performances are exceptional, intensifying the density of the film, while the cinematography alternates between beautiful and gloomy settings, reinforcing the impact. The film features striking scenes and hate speech that expose not only violence, but also the essence of extremism, resulting in a disturbing and uncomfortable experience.

What you need to know. Based on a true story. I was in high school and these assholes were sometimes folk heroes to some. We are a country founded on the idea we are all born with the Rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

This move reminds us that even when the extremists take it away from us, they will take it from each other just as readily. Their hypocrisy has always been about having the money and power and using the most volatile whites to that end.

8.6/10. Well written, well acted, just a shitty story. White supremacists are a tired cliche of themselves.

Jude was magnificent in the role, everyone were great in acting and deliver fantastic performances. Really good story telling, it is raw and brutal where it needs. One of those movies who probably no one will see cause it is not advertised but it is clearly a gem for 2024. It deserves more recognition. Even the long duration doesn't interfere with the pace. Tension stays through out the movie and you will not be disappointed.

aggressively distracted by this movie being filmed in my home town 😭😭😭

I really enjoyed this one. Well, enjoy maybe not but I did appreciate the movie a ton. Jude Law is amazing. The rest of the cast is so so. Love a good true story movie and this one did not disappoint. Kind of spooky to see a parallel to today’s times.

This was a very heavy movie, but really good. The directing and acting is amazing. This might be Jude Law's best performance, and Nicholas Hoult is incredible as always.

If “The Order” was my first exposure to Justin Kurzel, I might have walked away impressed by his ability to build tension and create an oppressive atmosphere. But having only seen “Assassin’s Creed” (2016) before this, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In that game-based epic, Kurzel showed a strong eye for visual stylization and a near-solemn tone, but the narrative drowned in its own seriousness and the limitations of a fragmented script. So stepping into the world of “The Order,” I was surprised by the shift in approach: there’s no room here for grand abstractions or lofty concepts. Instead, Kurzel stays grounded in a brutal and uncomfortably real world, delivering a stark, no-nonsense study of rising extremism and its devastating impact.

The story follows FBI agent Terry Husk, played by a nearly unrecognizable Jude Law. Unlike the classic investigative movie hero, Husk isn’t just driven by a sense of justice—he’s weighed down by an exhaustion that borders on collapse. His sluggish posture, his unshaven face, the way he compulsively chews gum—everything about him radiates weariness. When he arrives in the quiet town of Coeur D’Alene to investigate a disappearance linked to a string of robberies and attacks, his body language says more than his words ever do. He’s not just there to crack a case; there’s something in him that needs this hunt, as if it’s the last thing keeping him functional. That quiet desperation makes every interaction feel loaded with unpredictable tension, especially when he crosses paths with Bob Matthews (Nicholas Hoult).

While Law sinks into fatigue and melancholy, Hoult takes the opposite route. His Bob Matthews is a young, ambitious extremist, determined to turn his ideology into action. The film spends long stretches with him and his group, which might suggest an attempt to make him a complex villain, but Kurzel smartly avoids humanizing him or offering easy justifications for his beliefs. Matthews isn’t some criminal mastermind or an erratic psychopath—he’s just a man consumed by blind conviction, convinced he’s shaping the future. Hoult keeps his performance understated, making the character all the more terrifying in his normalcy—someone who could exist in any neighborhood, in any country, but who chose to turn his frustration into organized violence.

The cinematography reinforces the film’s suffocating atmosphere. If Kurzel used the camera in “Assassin’s Creed” to highlight grandeur and acrobatic stunts, in “The Order,” the approach is the exact opposite: everything feels tight, heavy, weighed down by a physicality that mirrors the harshness of this reality. The dimly lit neon bars, the weathered wooden walls, the cold metallic warehouses doubling as weapon stockpiles—every setting adds to the film’s sense of methodical violence, one that isn’t flashy but feels disturbingly real and calculated.

Dramatically, the film makes some bold choices that subvert expectations. Husk and Matthews don’t face off in a traditional sense—their battle is far more psychological than physical. When they share the screen, there’s an eerie symmetry between them: two lonely men, trapped in their own worlds, inevitably set on a collision course. The script hints that, in some way, they recognize each other, even if they don’t want to, which adds another layer of tension to every scene Law and Hoult share. It’s a duel of performances where glances and silences say more than any expositional dialogue ever could.

Another of the film’s strengths is its tonal discipline. Kurzel resists the temptation to sensationalize or turn the real-life events that inspired the story into an explosive, twist-filled thriller. “The Order” follows a controlled, methodical pace, letting the unease build progressively. When violence finally erupts, there’s no catharsis, no stylized spectacle—it’s quick, raw, and disturbingly realistic, as if the film is reminding us that terror doesn’t need special effects to be devastating.

The climax is handled with surgical precision, leading to an action sequence that, while brief, is absolutely suffocating in its tension. Kurzel’s control over space and pacing in this moment is reminiscent of some of the best sequences in “Mindhunter,” but without the intent to stylize brutality. “The Order” isn’t about the spectacle of violence—it’s about its consequences. In the end, there are no big victories, no sense of relief. What lingers is the feeling of a world rotting from hatred and hopelessness—a closing note that makes the film all the more unsettling and impossible to forget.

The Order takes viewers on a tense, well-executed journey through the dark corners of American extremism in the 1980s. The film stands out not only for its fast-paced rhythm and well-crafted action sequences but also for its political backdrop, which resonates disturbingly with current events. While Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult share the spotlight, it's Law who brings a magnetic presence to his role, adding intensity to every scene he's in.

Justin Kurzel’s direction keeps the tension high from start to finish. His ability to create oppressive atmospheres and film violence with stark realism elevates this thriller beyond a simple tale of chases and shootouts. However, while the plot remains engaging, it occasionally falls into genre clichés, which slightly undermines its originality.

Despite these minor flaws, The Order holds strong as a powerful narrative about the dangers of fanaticism. It doesn’t just entertain—it prompts reflection on how extremist movements from the past continue to echo in the present. Without relying on flashy tricks, this is a film that leaves a mark and keeps viewers hooked until the very last minute.