The Order

"Weak"

The Order Review


The Catholic church has been a source of inspiration for a whole slew of scary movies -- everything from goosepimpling tales of possession like "The Exorcist" to fact-based stories of institutionalized horror like the current art-house hit "The Magdalene Sisters."

But mostly these scary movies have not been all that frightening. In fact, mostly they've been forgettably cheap-fright thrillers that make up their own mythology, then dress it up in cassocks and clerical collars for mock-credibility, much like "The Order."

This dark supernatural thriller about a brooding young man of the cloth (lumpy-featured heartthrob Heath Ledger) in the midst of a major crisis of faith (there's this girl, see...) is loosely based on an archaic con offered to ex-communicated sinners on their deathbeds in Medieval times: Someone calling himself a "sin eater" would perform a ceremony in which, for a price, he would assume all the dying person's transgressions and guilt so he or she would be free to enter Heaven.

The plot involves Ledger seeking answers to his mentor's death by tracking of one of these sin eaters (Benno Furmann, "The Princess and the Warrior"), an apparent immortal who has resurfaced in present-day Rome and is trying to recruit the conflicted priest to be his successor. But the narrative is convoluted with requisite romantic temptations (once-possessed sultry pixie Shannyn Sossamon fell for the priest when he performed her exorcism), apparent murders accompanied by Aramaic graffiti, an ominous cardinal (an effectively unsettling Peter Weller) with the air of a CIA-styled Vatican spook, a Satanic cult with all the typical black-hood and underground-lair accoutrements, and demons, voices and spirits which come out of the candle-lit woodwork with such regularity that Ledger barely shrugs at having to dispatch them back to hell with histrionic brimstone ballyhoo.

Sneaked into theaters by 20th Century Fox without a press screening -- which means the studio thinks it's crap -- "The Order" has some paranormal promise and soul-searching perspicacity buried under its hazy layers of portentous atmosphere. But as written and directed by the imaginative Brian Helgeland (adapter of "L.A. Confidential" and the highly-praised "Mystic River," due out next month), there are deeper themes and emotions that just don't get their due from the film's lightweight leads.

Ledger, Sossamon and Mark Addy, playing another clergyman and Ledger's best friend, were perfect for Helgeland's outlandishly abstract, 13th century jousting-with-a-'70s-rock-soundtrack action-comedy "A Knight's Tale." But reuniting them here wasn't smart casting. None of the actors seem to connect with their characters. Ledger doesn't perceptively struggle with the collapse of his belief system or even question his attraction to Sossamon -- something which Addy encourages as if the priesthood is just his buddy's day job.

"The Order" only shows its conceptual depth in the scenes that find Ledger face-to-face with the complex, seductively haunted and menacing Furmann for a dogmatic tug-of-war over the entitlement and administration of last rites.

But despite almost two years of studio-mandated recutting and reshoots that have left the film feeling elusive and unfocused, Helgeland -- who was very excited about the project when I interviewed him just before filming began in 2001 -- holds his themes together fairly well until a last-act twist that relies on the hackneyed notion of a veiled villain unmasking himself for no explored reason and verbosely explaining his entire evil plan to the hero.

I'd be curious to know what went down between my interview in 2001 and the release of this second-rate chiller. But even if Helgeland had been given final cut, "The Order" has an underlying shallowness that would have been hard to disguise.



The Order

Facts and Figures

Run time: 102 mins

In Theaters: Friday 5th September 2003

Box Office USA: $7.5M

Box Office Worldwide: $11.6M

Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Production compaines: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Baumgarten Merims Productions, N1 European Film Produktions GmbH & Co. KG

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 8%
Fresh: 5 Rotten: 55

IMDB: 5.1 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director:

Starring: as Alex Bernier, as Mara Sinclair, as William Eden, as Thomas Garrett, as Driscoll, Francesco Carnelutti as Dominic, as Apathetic Bishop, Paola Emilia Villa as Sister Marie, Giulia Lombardi as Little Girl, Mirko Casaburo as Little Boy

Also starring:

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews