The Order Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)September 8th, 2003
THE ORDER (2003) / **
Directed by Brian Helgeland, from his screenplay. Starring Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Benno Fürmann. Running time: 103 minutes. Rated R for controversial subject matter by the MFCB. Reviewed on September 8th, 2003.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: A young Catholic priest named Alex (Ledger) is alerted by an American cardinal, Driscoll (Peter Weller), that his mentor, Dominic, has apparently committed suicide. Suspicious, Alex travels to Rome to unearth the truth. Joined by fellow priest Thomas (Addy) and the beautiful but troubled Mara (Sossamon), Alex comes to suspect that Dominic's death was caused by a Sin Eater (Benno Fürmann) -- an immortal who grants absolution by absorbing the transgressions of others.
Review: Writer/director Helgeland's detailed and moody direction is, unfortunately, just about the only reason to recommend "The Order"; the viewer is left wishing he'd stayed behind the camera and left the scriptwriting to somebody else. This is a tepid and aimless story which tries to be both a religious mystery and a thriller, but largely fails on both counts. Things start off promisingly enough, but most of the film's secrets are revealed too quickly. The result is a middle section which feels almost somnabulent, a situation made worse by the tedious and one-dimensional characters Helgeland has created. It's not that any of the actors really embarrass themselves -- it's just that they are given very little material to work with, and consequently are left to look stylish while spouting pedantic dialogue. Things pick up a bit in the movie's closing scenes, but by this point the hand of the filmmakers has become far too apparent: a pair of characters return for no good reason except to be spooky, for instance. More glaringly, when another protagonist is temporarily rendered mute, he just sits around waiting for his voice to come back rather than impart a vital message to Alex. In fairness, "The Order" is not a terrible movie. But it does commit the heinous crime of making the wonders of Heaven and Hell seem remarkably boring.
Copyright © 2003 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
Archived at The Popcorn Gallery,
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
