The Order - 9/05/03

Written by: Brian Helgeland

Starring: Heath Ledger, Hannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann, Peter Weller

Official Site

I went to go see this movie because I thought it had potential. I think Brian Helgeland is a fine director, who did a great job with Payback, A Knights Tale and, of course, his work on the L.A. Confidential script, for which he won an Oscar for. So, I had some faith in him. I did not like A Knights Tale... ok, I liked it a little bit, but I am not a fan of the infusion of classic rock and medieval locales... it's just not for me, and it got in the way of me enjoying the film.

This is one of those situations where the Academy Award gets you some pretty serious leeway, in regards to projects. After adapting Payback, from the Richard Stark novel, and also directing the film, he went on to Knight's Tale. Payback made over $81 million (with a budget of $50 million). Knight's Tale didn't do as well, with a budget of $41 million, and a box office draw of $56m... but it still turned a profit, and that's all that is important.

Helgeland produced some shorts between Knight's Tale and his next project, which was the writing of Clint Eastwood's Blood Work, which did very poorly in the theaters. Mystic River was after that, another Eastwood film that hasn't been released yet. He then went on to The Order, which Helgeland wrote, directed and produced (same as Knight's Tale).

In fact, Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, and Hannyn Sossamon were both stars of Knight's Tale. I'm not sure if Helgeland wrote the parts specifically tailored to those three actors, or just enjoyed working with them, but I can say that the acting in this film was much stronger than in Knight's Tale.

The story itself is pretty intersting, circling around Sin Eaters, an Order of people who are able to extract the sins of people who have been excommunicated from the church, or those who were destined to Hell, or even suicides. An interesting premise.

But what Helgeland does is use the material in such a cliched manner, that the entire film is predictable. Helgeland bothers to use a lot of sub-text in the beginning of the film, but it doesn't help the plot along very well, and doesn't prove to add any suspense to the picture, in any way. Most of the time we find things out in a matter-of-fact sort of way, and I found myself saying 'who cares?'

The characters were decently written and, again, the story had merit, but it was just too predictable. Things were spelled out for the audience, and you wonder, how could the main character not know? He knows everything we do...

In regards to directing, I think Helgeland has a way with actors. He got very good performances out of everyone. I was especially pleased to see Peter Weller in the film, as I think he's an excellent actor and, by far, one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood today.

Benno Furmann put forth an excellent effort as William Eden (his last name on purpose, and its funny because it's a little too subtle for people to get...). Ledger, Sossamon and Addy all did good jobs, as well.

I think that Nicola Pecorini is one of the more original and captivating cinematographers today. I think his work, since he started with Terry Gilliam with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, has only gotten better. He followed that up with Rules of Engagement, Bulworth, Lost in La Mancha (the failed film by Gilliam that starred Johnny Depp as Don Quixote). Pecorini will also be shooting Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm, due out next year. The work was very well done. Not too dark, and it gave Helgeland's directing a little more style than it would have had with a lesser DP.

This is not a film I would recommend seeing in the theaters. I would rent it. The trailers were interesting enough, and looked like the film had more potential than it actually has, but don't be fooled. It's really a straightforward story with little depth, good acting, and predictability at almost every turn.