Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult actually followed each other while prepping forThe Order. The movie, which is based on Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s nonfiction bookThe Silent Brotherhood, is set in 1983 Idaho and follows FBI agent Terry Husk’s (Law) investigation into a rash of bank robberies that he suspects is being masterminded by Bob Mathews (Hoult), the leader of a group of radicals. TheupcomingThe Order, which had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, also stars Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, and Marc Maron.
Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier recently had the opportunity to sit down withThe Orderdirector Justin Kurzel to discuss his new movie. When the conversation turned to maintaining realism, Kurzel revealed that one of the biggest challenges was bringing a character like Mathews to the screen and trying to “get an understanding” of them despite heinous acts that they have committed. One way he helped get both Law and Hoult into the mindsets of their characters wasan exercise where they “followed each other for a day.“Read Kurzel’s full quote about the process and the reasoning behind it below:
Yeah, I think it’s just trying to ground it. Especially with someone like Nick’s character, Bob Mathews, you’re able to be quite overwhelmed by the fact that it’s based on a real person; a person who’s committed some pretty horrific acts. You’ve got to find a way in which you can see them in a community, visualize them with their family, and try to get an understanding as to what their every day is. That’s a real key.
I do these little manifestos with actors. And with [Jude and Nicholas], it’s all about to-do things. What can you do that gets you a little closer to the kind of character that you’re playing? Those two kind of followed each other for a day and watched each other without the other one knowing. It sounds a bit silly, but even just the simple act of that really focuses them on what that point of view is, and what that feeling is in terms of having someone else in your life judging every moment of them, and having to keep tabs on them and what that energy and that focus is. That can be a real key.
What This Means For The Order
The True Story Is Coming To Life
Kurzel’s commitment to realism both on and off camera has seemingly resulted in a movie with the ability to bring true events to the screen with a strong sense of verisimilitude. This would certainly seem to be reflected in the raft of glowing earlyThe Orderreviewsout of its Venice premiere, which have resulted in it earninga Certified Fresh score of 86% on Rotten Tomatoesahead of its limited theatrical release in December. While its score could fluctuate as more reviews are added, it seems likely that it will continue to have high marks.
Vertical acquired the distribution rights forThe Orderin May, before it premiered in competition at Venice in late August.
Part of its ability to connect with early audiences could very well have come from Kurzel’s trick of bringing the characters' lives off the page in this unusual way, as well as any other unique acting exercises that he may have employed in the process of bringing the story to life. This has likelyallowed the true stories of the characters to shine, stripping them of artifice and allowing the compelling human drama to come to the fore.
Our Take On Justin Kurzel’s The Order Comments
The Order’s Realism May Allow It A Chance To Shine
Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the relatively quiet theatrical release forThe Orderwill allow it to find a foothold in the holiday movie marketplace amid the wave of contemporary, big-budget blockbuster releases includingWicked,Gladiator II,Moana 2, and theupcomingSonic the Hedgehog 3,Mufasa: The Lion King, andKraven the Hunter, among others. However, the FBI thriller’s unique brand of realism could help it stand out amid such fantastical and splashy tentpole fare.
The Order
Cast
A lone FBI agent, stationed in a small Idaho town, uncovers a disturbing connection between a series of violent bank robberies and a white supremacist group known as The Order. As the investigation deepens, the agent finds himself up against a dangerous domestic terror organization bent on sowing chaos across the Pacific Northwest.
