‘The Order’ Review: Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult Deliver Gripping, Timely Thrills

With a strong cast, tight script, and exemplary direction, The Order is first-rate filmmaking above and beyond the usual expectations of your standard thriller. It’s the true story behind the FBI investigation of a neo-Nazi compound in the 1980s called the Aryan. Pulling away from the church-backed sponsorship that fueled racism in those days, the group, composed of disillusioned working-class right-wingers who hated Black people, cops, Jews, Protestant preachers and the government, decided to adopt more violent and lethal ways to fight the establishment and take back the country on their own terms.

 Under the leadership of a thug with “two first names,” Bob Mathews, they changed their moniker to Alien Nation and declared war on anyone who upheld the law and respected the Constitution. To support their cause, these white supremacists burned synagogues, robbed banks, and made headlines when they murdered liberal Denver radio host Alan Berg. To guarantee continuance of future power, they converted children to fire automatic weapons, respect crime, bomb government buildings, poison small-town water supplies, and wreak havoc on America. Their motto was “Victory forever, defeat never,” and to commit it to posterity so the country would not forget what they stood for, they outlined their goals in a book that became their own specific version of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. As their numbers grew, they became a force of evil that defined the early days of domestic terrorism known as  “The Order.”  This is a movie about their rise and fall, and it is relentlessly gripping.

Jude Law—paunchy, middle-aged and looking nothing like Jude Law—plays Terry Husk, the 26-year FBI veteran who devotes his life to ending the reign of the infamous monster Bob Mathews. Fresh from his triumph as the star of Clint Eastwood’s surprise hit Juror #2, Nicholas Hoult, as always, is charismatic as hell, even as a mad-dog racist dedicated to the destruction of Congress, the White House and civilized Democracy. In a role diametrically opposed to the decent courtroom juror he played in the Eastwood film, this rapidly rising young star is one of the best and most versatile new actors on the movie scene today, a Brit specializing in playing Americans without a trace of an English accent. In a smaller but equally memorable portrayal, Tye Sheridan makes a strong impression as Jamie Bowen, the doomed FBI rookie who is no match for the cruel, despicable Mathews. The entire cast gives each scene the inclusive force it needs without giving too much of the plot away.  

Beginning with a tightly staged bank robbery in Spokane, Washington, right up to Mathews’ death in 1984, the richly detailed screenplay by Zach Baylin is well served by director Justin Kurzel.  The most fascinating aspect of the story is the lasting impact The Order’s literary manifesto still has on today’s alarming crime market. Every major hate crime, from the Oklahoma City massacre to the January insurrection by white supremacists to overthrow the government, has been inspired by the guidelines set forth in the manual published by The Order 50 years ago. At a crucial moment in modern history when the sins of the past are repeating themselves daily, I haven’t seen any film more relevant than The Order.