The Order

This is masterful, intense storytelling. The writing is subtle, the acting is top-notch, and the cinematography is excellent.

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We follow an FBI agent as he works to uncover and break apart a cell of domestic terrorists who are gathering money to enlist an army to help them overthrow the federal government. Jude Law is completely convincing as the battered agent who wears his regrets on his sleeve.

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The person who wrote the screenplay, Zach Baylin, based it on a non-fiction book called The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America’s Racist underground, written by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhart and  published in 1989.

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Mr. Baylin did a remarkable job showing us aspects of the white supremacist ideology: like the way the main character has a breeding kink, how they live and practice their marksmanship in the deep woods, how they’re willing to counterfeit money, rob banks, and kill innocent people in their efforts to elevate themselves to a position of moral superiority.

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This film also shows us how the white supremacist movement follows a 6-point process that is spelled out in a book that was written in the 70s. The processes outlined in the book have been followed all the way to the end in at least two major incidents in American history: the Oklahoma City bombing and the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

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The feeling I was left with at the movies conclusion is gratitude for film-makers like the four responsible for the film (Jude Law, Bryan Haas, Stuart Ford, and Justin Kurzel) who are willing to go through the massive effort of pulling a film together to bring this information to millions of people - especially in the political climate American finds itself in now. Major kudos to those people.

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