How does a cult get its strength?
A based-in-fact drama, “The Order,” tries to explain the origin of a group living in the Pacific Northwest. There, we see Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult) delivering stirring speeches while gathering followers.
He’s fascinating to watch.
Nicholas Hoult stars in "The Order."
Unfortunately, the film is built around Jude Law as an FBI agent trying to capture Mathews and shut down his white supremacist group.
Because we have to get to know the hunter, we don't get much time to understand the hunted.
The fast-paced drama has a cat-and-mouse quality, but it really sparks whenever director Justin Kurzel heads into the Pacific Northwest compound where Mathews is in charge.
In those scenes, you get a sense of the growing discontent with the government and a desire to "set things right" in the country. Hoult has seminal moments with his detractors and superiors.
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Law, however, is the film's lead so time must be spent telling something of his story – his past transgressions, his failing health, his personal stake in doing what's right. Kurzel includes his time with local law enforcement (Tye Sheridan is particularly good), but that's filler until they head out on the trail of The Order, the group Mathews is leading. They have no idea where that might wind up.
Followers reside in a compound in the Pacific Northwest where Bob Mathews (played by Nicholas Hoult) is the leader. They're the focus of the film "The Order."
In those sparse moments at home, Hoult shows compassion and care, reading to his son, comforting his wife.
When the lens broadens, we realize he has a mistress and a disconnect with those who got him started in the religion.
When Mathews finally encounters Law's Terry Husk, there's a dance that suggests animals in the woods. They don't exactly become best friends, but there is an awareness that continues throughout the film.
When Kurzel zooms in on Hoult, "The Order" is a chilling account of a specific piece of American history. When he strays over to Law, it's a generic cops-and-robbers film.
Marc Maron slips in as radio show host; Philip Granger is hard to pin as Sheridan's boss.
Because he's juggling so many characters, Kurzel can't make this the "Bonnie and Clyde" it wants to be.
Giving Hoult top billing (and telling the story from his perspective) might have provided the order it needs. Instead, the story settles in and, instead of documenting history, becomes a crime thriller where the resolution is obvious.
