_MOVIES  
 

THE ORDER
A 20th Century Fox Release

review by Joseph B. Mauceri

 

posterSYNOPSIS: For centuries, a secret Order has existed within the Catholic Church.  A series of unexplained murders forces a renegade priest, Father Alex (Ledger), to begin an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of unimaginable evil, murder and the knowledge that there is a fate worse than death.

The priestıs inquiry search eventually sends him on a quest to find The Sin Eater. The immortal Sin Eaterıs role is nothing less than playing God on earth by absolving the unforgivable of their sins outside the Church, allowing great evil to go unpunished.

Burdened with centuries of evil, The Sin Eater craves the luxury of death.  But who will eat his sins and grant eternal peace?  Who will carry on his dark tradition? As Alex uncovers the answers and pursues these paragons of evil, he becomes entrenched in a battle to save his own soul and that of the woman he cares for.

REVIEW: From ³Payback² to ³L.A. Confidebtial,² Director Brian Helgelandıs has some impressive writing credits in his resume. So it boggles my mind just how badly written THE ORDER is. Helgelandıs plot is riddled with inconsistencies, superficial plot devices and under utilized, and unrealistic, subplots. For example, how does an escapee from a mental institution come by the necessary documents to hop an international flight out of the country the following day? That aside, the script lacks the emotional hooks to grab and audience or allows them to understand the nature of the relationships, especially the one between Father Alex and Mara. Hereıs this ³renegade² Catholic priest (who reminds me of ³The X-Files² Agent Mulder), one of the last of his order, who is torn between The Church, Mara, and the Sin Eater. I never really came to an emotional point where I could care about these characters. Therefore, it isolates the suspense and terror from the viewer.

 

THE ORDER, originally titled ³The Sin Eater,² looks great. Helgeland the film was shot on location in Rome, Italy. The location, as opposed to a set on a sound stage, gives the film that ³old world² charm and feel. The director combines the location with some interesting visuals to create an air of mystery and suspense. David Torn, a fresh name in the industry, provides an excellent atmospheric score. It works together well, for all of about 20 minutes because the screenplay doesnıt support these other elements.

I also had a problem with Helgelandıs casting of the film. Three of the four principle roles in the film are played by the actors that starred in Helgelandıs medieval adventure ³A Knightıs Tale,² a comedy. THE ORDER is supposed to be a dark supernatural thriller, but audiences who watch the trailer might be mislead by the cast. Case in point, there were people who went to see M. Night Shyamalanıs ³Unbreakable² thinking it had something to do with his previous film, ³The Sixth Sense,² because he cast Bruce Willis as the lead in both films. My other problem with his choice of Heath Ledger and Shannyn Sossamon is that they look far too young for the characters that theyıre playing.

 

As we move into fall, the season for scary movies is quickly descending upon your local cinema. This isnıt one of them. The opening scenes of THE ORDER promise audiences shades of ³Rosemaryıs Baby² and ³The Exorcist.² Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving. Helgeland fails to keep pace with his narrative and it all begins to fall apart 20 minutes into the story.  The end result is a good looking hack job, that proves that, as a director, Helgeland hacks on at a higher level than most of the other hack directors working in Hollywood.

OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://www.theordermovie.com/

BACK


OVERALL WORTH 
based on a Manhattan price 
of $10.00
STORY/DIALOGUE $5.00
ACTING $8.00
DIRECTING $7.00
PRODUCTION
DESIGN 		 $10.00
SPECIAL EFFECTS  $10.00
SCORE/MUSIC
SONGS		 $10.00
"REEL" VALUE $8.33

SUMMARY:
From Rod Serlingıs ³The Sins of the Fatherıs² to Elizabeth Massieıs 1992 novel ³The Sin Eater,² Brian Helgeland take on the myth disregards all the rules in creating this nightmare that even the studio wants to exorcise.

CREDITS:
CREW: 
Screenplay, Producer & Director - Brian Helgeland; Producer - Craig Baumgarten; Director of Photography - Nicola Pecorini; Score - David Torn; Production Designer - Miljen ³Kreka² Kljaković; Costume Designer - Caroline Harris; Visual Effects Supervisor - Nathan Mcguinness; Stunt Coordinator -             Franco Maria Salamon; Special Makeup Effects Supervisor     - Neill Gorton; Special Effects Supervisor - Terence Glass; Special Effects  - Corridori Special Effects (Rome) & Asylum

CAST: AlexŠ HEATH LEDGER; MaraŠ SHANNYN SOSSAMON; EdenŠ BENNO FÜRMANN; ThomasŠ MARK ADDY; DriscollŠ PETER WELLER; DominicŠ FRANCESCO CARNELUTTI; Little BoyŠ MIRKO CASABURO; Little GirlŠ GIULIA LOMBARDI; DemonŠ DAVID AMBROSI; Priest at St. PetersŠ EMANUELE CARUCCI VITERBI; Sin Eater at St. PetersŠ RICHARD LEAF.