By Aidan O’Sullivan
“Change only comes when people are ready to fight for it.”
So reads the antagonist of The Order (2024), Nicholas Hoult’s Bob Mathews to his little boy. This particular bedtime story is that of The Turner Diaries, a fictional narrative which depicts the overthrow of the US federal government by a white separatist group known only as ‘the organisation.’ The story culminates in a race war ending the lives of all non-whites and Jews throughout the world.
The Turner Diaries is a real book, key in influencing the development of white nationalism as well as a number of horrifying hate crimes and violent groups, including some of which were reportedly involved in the January 6th insurrection in Washington D.C..
The Order, the latest film by Justin Kurzel features one such real life white supremacist group, set in the 1980s American Pacific Northwest. The eponymous ‘Order’ attempted to raise funds through armed robbery and racketeering with the ultimate aim of staging a white separatist revolution.
Jude Law plays the bedraggled Detective Terry Husk with additional performances from Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sherdan as fellow police officers as they chase Bob Matthews down. There is also a small but fantastic performance from Marc Maron as real life Jewish radio host Alan Berg.
As a solid crime-thriller the Order excels, trading in parts on the same fare of greater films such as No Country for Old Men which also used the environment as a powerful adjunct to set the tone for its story. The wide open vistas of Washington state create a moody ambient atmosphere for Husk’s hunt of Mathews. Expertly shot, the film features more than one memorable sequence. It is well paced and more than capable of building tension between the bursts of violence that occur throughout its 2hr runtime.
Further, Holt’s performance as the boyish blue eyed Matthews threads a delicate line in conveying the amicable and charming nature of a ruthless young American fascist who enraptured the young men in his community. Holt’s performance is by far one of the most disturbing aspects of the film. Though striking, the reasons why his character turned to violent racism are left improperly teased out.
This issue persists throughout the film, with only fleeting references to personal grievances or brief background details on certain characters. We never truly get inside why The Order’s followers were so susceptible to its neo-nazi messaging in the first place.
While a compelling crime-thriller it may be, the film fails to dig truly deep into what lies at the source of burgeoning nazism in a country famous for the defeat of the same political movement. This is something Holt’s performance, while compelling, cannot fix.
In fact, while handled professionally the other characters generally suffer from a lack of development. Jude Law’s Husk, a patchwork of traditional movie detectives, is never fully explored in depth. His partners Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sheridan give promising performances but the viewer is left feeling unfulfilled. Their own internal psyches are left untouched.
For a film that has been promoted by the cast and director as sadly relevant for our time, The Order fails to capture why reoccurring extremism continues to be present in the flow of American life. It makes for a fantastically shot, well ordered crime-thriller but misses in terms of offering any incisive insight on the extremism that plagues the USA to this day.
The Order, released in cinemas in the USA Dec. 2024 is now available on Amazon Prime Ireland.