While he’s directed other things such as Assassin’s Creed and Macbeth, Justin Kurzel is known mainly for his searing true crime dramas such as Nitram, Snowtown, and True History of the Kelly Gang. It’s a genre he knows extremely well, and I would argue does it better than anyone right now. He returns to what he does best with The Order, a gripping crime thriller starring Jude Law, Tye Sheridan, Nicholas Hoult, and Jurnee Smollett based on a real-life FBI case against a white supremacist terrorist group in the 1980s.
The Order stars Law as haggard FBI agent Terry Husk, who discovers a pattern in a series of armed bank robberies, counterfeiting, and armored car heists terrorizing specific communities up and down the Pacific Northwest. He soon discovers they are being committed by members of The Order, a Neo-Nazi group led by the charismatic Bob Matthews, played by Nicholas Hoult.
Sheridan plays local police officer Jamie Bowen who knows many of the people within The Order and is determined to stop them. Smollett is veteran FBI agent Joanne Carney, who oversees the operation but knows all too well Husk’s troubled past and how it could affect the investigation.
The Order was my favorite film to emerge from the recent Middleburg Film Festival. While based on real events, it has the muscular energy of Sidney Lumet’s Serpico, and has relevance given the rise of hate groups that we’re seeing right now.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Sheridan and Smollett about their roles in The Order. Sheridan talked about getting the chance to work with Jude Law on this type of movie. Smollett had thoughts on her character, a Black woman in a position of authority against a hate group that doesn’t respect her right to exist.
Vertical releases The Order in theaters on December 6th. Check out the interviews below, and please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel for more!
