The Order

Last night my nephew and I had a double feature at the Broadway starting with The Order.  It is a tense thriller based on true events that I found disturbing but very compelling.  Terry Husk (Jude Law) is a world-weary FBI agent who arrives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to investigate a disappearance that he believes is connected to a string of bank robberies.  The local police chief (Philip Granger) is not very helpful but an eager young officer named Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) believes that the nearby Aryan Nation, under the direction of Richard Butler (Victor Slezak), is involved.  They eventually discover a splinter group called The Order which was formed by Robert Mathews (Nicholas Hoult), a former disciple of Butler who has become radicalized and is following the blueprint set out in The Turner Diaries which calls for fundraising, recruitment, assassination, and domestic terrorism.  As The Order becomes increasingly more brazen, including the murder of provocative Jewish disc jockey Alan Berg (Marc Maron), Husk, his former FBI partner Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett), and Bowen close in on Mathews resulting in a fiery standoff.  This is a gritty old-school procedural with a tormented cop playing a cat and mouse game with a charismatic sociopath and it is extremely well-done.  The action sequences, particularly the bank and armored truck robberies, are incredibly intense but some of the scenes involving the recruitment of potential white supremacists are hard to watch (particularly since this is still going on around the country) and the sense of dread escalates until it becomes almost unbearable.  I was especially fascinated by the juxtaposition between the beautiful natural surroundings (the cinematography is stunning) and the evil lurking just under the surface.  Law is outstanding as a man who is living with regrets and both Sheridan and Smollett deliver strong supporting performances but Hoult is brilliant because he completely disappears into a role unlike anything he has done before.  I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.  This is not getting much attention but it is definitely worth seeking out.