Director Justin Kurzel knows how to get under your skin. His 2011 debut, Snowtown, almost immediately started making it on lists of the most disturbing movies ever made; 2019’s True History of the Kelly Gang took an almost hallucinatory look at the legendary Ned Kelly gang; and 2021’s Nitram created a sense of slow, unnerving anticipated that couldn’t be shaken. But underneath Kurzel’s best work, there’s this underlying understanding that haunts the entire film: this really happened, and even though these are clearly fictionalized accounts of what happened, it’s still terrifying that such horrors can actually exist in this world.

At first, Kurzel’s latest based-on-a-true-story crime drama, The Order, seems a bit too straightforward, with this cat-and-mouse game that can’t help but remind of the work of Michael Mann. Yet, as The Order continues, that old dismaying feeling that Kurzel knows so well starts creeping back; a haunting, unsettling atmosphere that permeates this story. Whereas Kurzel’s other films put its nightmares upfront, evil that we can see and turn our heads away from if need be, The Order disturbs in an entirely new way. As we see the hatred in these antagonists, we start to realize how frighteningly familiar these monsters feel to our present world.

What Is ‘The Order’ About?

Set in 1983 Idaho, a criminal group has been terrorizing the Pacific Northwest with a series of robberies, bombings, and a counterfeiting operation. FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) has seen better days; only just settling into his new position in a quiet small town, waiting for his life to calm down before he reunites with his family. But Husk soon puts together that this series of crimes is being planned by a white supremacist group, who are trying to bankroll their eventual terrorist plot to overtake the U.S. government. Led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult), this group is prepared, unpredictable, and extremely dangerous — both in their actions and beliefs.

Husk enlists the help of another FBI agent, Joanna Carney (Jurnee Smollett), and a local police officer who knows the area and its people, Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan), to try and track down Bowen’s group before their mayhem continues even further. Meanwhile, Bowen and his team are getting horrifically close to making enough money to get started on the next phase of their plans.

‘The Order’ Is a Gorgeous, Yet Dark, Disturbing Crime Thriller
Image via Amazon MGM Studios

From the soaring vistas of the Pacific Northwest, to down in the gutter with racists planting bombs in porno theaters; despite the horrors of humankind being depicted, The Order is a gorgeous-looking film, thanks to Kurzel’s direction and cinematography from his frequent collaborator, Adam Arkapaw. Much like in Arkapaw’s long-delayed Magazine Dreams coming soon, there’s always something to catch the viewer’s eye, even when the story sends the viewer down into the gutters, whether it’s the way Jude Law is filmed as he shoots a shotgun at the white nationalist group, or the way moments of beauty or compassion are immediately punctured with pure hate. The Order is alluring to the eye, even when the story is dark as night.

Kurzel is great at building tension with this story, always keeping us on the edge of our seats, even in the quieter moments. Nowhere is safe, and even the most serene moments have the opportunity for violence. Even though The Order largely plays out similarly to other cat-and-mouse crime thrillers, there’s always the uneasy anticipation that something is going to go wrong at any point. Near the beginning of the film, Bob Mathews’ group robs a bank and plants a bomb as a distraction. And while we’re waiting for it to come when we least expect it, the bomb never goes off. Kurzel’s film plays similarly, almost like he’s placed a bomb at the beginning of his narrative, and we’re just waiting for it to go off at any moment.

16:29 Related Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, and Jurnee Smollett Star in This New True-Story American Crime Thriller The cast and creatives discuss their shockingly short film schedule, embodying difficult characters, and more at TIFF.

This is also a solid screenplay from Zach Baylin, who received an Oscar nomination for King Richard, and the way he balances Terry Husk’s investigation with the activities of Bob Mathews’ “The Order” is nicely balanced. Husk’s search is flawed, as he has to work with detectives who don’t know what the hell they’re doing, but he’s determined and ready to go too far at a moment’s notice to get what he needs. Meanwhile, we see the calculated plans of Mathews, as his group quickly becomes a small militia ready to do some damage.

Baylin’s screenplay isn’t subtle, but that plays to its strength. For example, a few times, the film mentions that one of the ultimate goals of The Order is to overtake the Capitol. If the film wasn’t already drawing plenty of parallels between dangerous groups with horrible ideals ready to fight for their rights at the cost of other people’s and the current political situation in the United States, it’s moments like this that hit the nail right on the obvious head. In today’s world, subtlety be damned.

Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult Get to Push Themselves as Actors in ‘The Order’
Image via Amazon MGM Studios

The Order also allows both Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult to play characters we wouldn’t associate them with. We’ve never quite seen Law like this, grimy, angry, and ready for a fight, in order to get his man. He’s sullen, sick, and waiting for the chance to reunite with his family, but it’s clear that the job comes first to him, and it’s a curse he’ll always bear. But it’s also a great chance for Law to take on a role completely different for him, and he absolutely nails it.

Even more impressive is Hoult, who has already had an incredible 2024 with Nosferatu and Juror #2, but his quiet intensity in The Order might be one of his best performances yet. Again, Kurzel presents him like a bomb waiting to go off, and we can see the cogs working behind his cold eyes, planning his opportunity to lead the white race to victory. The worst part is that Hoult is good at playing someone amiable, so we understand why people would be drawn to him in such numbers, and yet, we are also aware of the true evil he’s trying to cause within the world and to what ends. This has been a true star-making year for Hoult, and The Order plays an integral part in showing a different side to the actor.

With The Order, Kurzel takes on a more straightforward approach than usual, giving us a Mann-esque thriller that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Yet the director also manages to keep that disturbing energy that has made his work up to this point so effective and unnerving. The Order is a solid crime drama that sometimes hits too close to home, but that’s what makes it so terrifying.

The Order comes to theaters on December 6.

Justin Kurzel’s The Order is a haunting cat-and-mouse crime thriller that features great performances and hits too close to home.ProsKurzel’s scope gets grander, but he never loses what makes his films so uncomfortable.Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult give great performances in this disturbing mystery.The Order knows how to balance between the good and evil sides, always giving us both perspectives in just the right amount. ConsSome of the secondary characters don’t have enough to do.

The Order is a historical crime thriller directed by Justin Kurzel. Set in 1983, the film follows FBI agent Terry Husk, who investigates a series of violent crimes in the Pacific Northwest. He suspects these are not the actions of a regular criminal gang but rather a white supremacist group led by the charismatic Bob Mathews. As he digs deeper, the investigation uncovers a radical underground network.Release Date December 5, 2024 Runtime 120 Minutes Main Genre Crime Writers Zach Baylin , Kevin Flynn , Gary Gerhardt

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