Presented in competition at the Venice Film Festival, The Orderfrom Australian director Justin Kurzel, stars Jude Law as an FBI agent investigating a dangerous white supremacist group in Idaho.
Northwest United States, 1983. For some time now, increasingly frequent and violent bank and armored truck robberies have been terrorizing the population. FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) recently relocated to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, comes to lend a hand to the police forces who are trying in vain to track down the criminals.
Husk is convinced that these are not just robbers, but a terrorist organization. Enter young agent Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) who puts him on the trail of a dangerous far-right group led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult), an enlightened leader who is fomenting a civil war in order to return America to the whites. Led with an iron fist by agent Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett), the only woman of color in a world of white men, the investigation is complicated by Husk’s fragile health and independent spirit, as well as Bowen’s clumsiness.
“After hunting down criminals of all kinds, Husk thinks about retiring and, to recharge his batteries, he hides out in the wilderness and goes hunting. It’s a beautiful motif that comes back in the film, as if the hunt never stops. The best moment in the film is the scene where Bob watches Husk by pointing a rifle at him while Husk points his at a deer,” Jude Law said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
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Jude Law as Terry Husk
Based on the book The Silent Brotherhoodby investigative journalists Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, written by Zach Baylin (Bob Marley: One Love, The Crow), The Orderby Justin Kurzel (Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed), takes us back to Reagan’s America. Dating back some forty years, this true story has had consequences until recently. Thus, the storming of the Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters in January 2001 is said to have drawn its inspiration from the ideologies of the far-right group The Order, which distributed to children Turner’s Notebooksa novel by white supremacist author William Luther Pierce, whose insurgent protagonist wages a race war.
“I’ve wanted to make an American film in the vein ofAll the President’s Men And French Connectionbig investigation films that I discovered when I was 13 or 14 years old, confided the Australian filmmaker. After reading Zach’s script, I felt the opportunity to do it. The film is inspired by events that took place in the 1980s and the good thing is that today’s generations will be able to connect with our time. We are in a time where there is a lot of division and also a lot of discussion about it. In that respect, the subject of the film is timeless.
“I think the history of the United States of America is very complex,” Smollett said, pointing to the Tulsa massacre of 1921 and the Oklahoma City terrorist attack of 1995. “It’s been going on since the founding of our nation, and through film we can explore that darkness and stop it from being perpetuated. It wouldn’t have been relevant in any era.”
“A mixture of agents”
If it is inspired by real events, The Order doesn’t just feature characters who existed. “Husk is an amalgam of agents who hunted Bob Mathews. With this character, we wanted to feature someone who is at the end of his career, who carries within him all the sacrifices he has made. So I created this archetype, then Justin and Jude gave him some specificities,” explained the screenwriter.
“To better situate him in the story,” Law continued, “we wanted Husk to represent all of us. He’s a man who believes that most of his work is behind him, while he has this big investigation ahead of him. When we reach a certain age, we all face this feeling that the best is behind us. The authenticity of the character also rests on the relationship, or lack thereof, that he has with his family.”
As for Bob Mathews, born Robert Jay Mathews, he did indeed exist. “In researching him, I discovered terrible things. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was interesting to delve into his life in order to understand what can push someone to join an extremist group. I think fear has something to do with it. What is scary and what the film demonstrates is that you can fall under the spell of a charismatic and unifying leader despite his horrible words. It’s a sadly universal American story,” recalled Nicholas Hoult.
“I grew up in a small town, but I was never exposed to such ideas. What attracted me to the film was its authenticity. The greatest achievement of The Order“It’s about family dynamics and community spirit that can help us face the world,” Sheridan concluded.