(***1/2)
The underground white supremacy movement didn’t start yesterday. More like yesteryear.
It’s stunning to learn that what’s new is old as this gripping crime/thriller recounts the 1980s, when the FBI hunted a subversive, racist group bent on violent domination. That The Turner Diaries, a 1978 novel by neo-Nazi William Luther Pierce that was a handbook for the January 6th insurrection, was the same guide used by the supremacist cult in this 1983-84 fact-based docudrama/crime/thriller.
They’re robbing banks. Robbing banks all over the Pacific Northwest. It’s a pattern. In broad daylight, men storm into savings & loans, threaten the customers, clerks and officers and steal lots of cash. Carjacking is part of the pattern too. Why? Beyond the obvious reason of greed, what’s the motive?
That’s what perplexes F.B.I agent Terry Husk (Jude Law, Cold Mountain), as he homes in on the small town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and visits a police station. He’s surprised that the local sheriff doesn’t seem as concerned as he. Meanwhile, as he snoops around, he strikes up a friendship with a young cop, Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan, Mud), who knows the area and locals. Something is brewing. Suspicion and a trail of clues lead to Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). He masquerades as a normal young family man, but clandestinely runs a subversive, guerrilla white cult. Brinks truck holdups, bombings of porn theaters and synagogues set ablaze can be traced back to him. Or his followers.
The calmness of the perpetrators is eerie. Their hate for others steadfast. They’re as organized as the local Kiwanis club, but up to no good. Their sense of superiority, destiny and sociopathy doesn’t abate for 1h 43m (editor Nick Fenton). The dramatic footage (cinematographer Adam Arkapaw) of Northwest landscapes, deserted roads and little towns is gripping from the first robbery to the denouement. The lone wolf sniffing along a trail of homicides becomes the sleuth who must succeed to stop the carnage. That’s the unyielding power of the script by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and the smart, crafty direction by Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Murders). Milk the drama, add thrills, coordinate the deadly action scenes and viewers will stay engrossed.
The footage has a very tight crime story feel, like Sicario. Each character has weaknesses and strengths. Husk is as determined to bring Matthews down as Matthews is determined to strike: “In every revolution, someone has to fire the first shot.” Law plays the lead as a law enforcer with his own baggage, trying to fix errors from the past by getting this one right. Willing to use people to achieve his goals and only tempered by the addition of an FBI agent (Jurnee Smollett, The Burial) who has more seniority then him.
Hoult plays down the demonic parts of Matthews. His goals are disgusting, but his manner is so matter of fact, it’s almost like he’s just the head coach of a hockey team making decisions that don’t please the general manager. In this case, the GM is Richard Butler (Victor Slezak), founder of the Aryan Nations. Matthews wants his revolution now. Butler wants the ideals of the neo-Nazi movement to pragmatically seep into the mainstream of politics and culture. The difference between an explosive January 6th or forwarding an extreme right-wing agenda by electing like-minded people to congress. Butler orders his protégé, “Stand down,” like a boss admonishing his subordinate. Matthews barks back, “Or What?!” Disgruntled and no longer heeding his chain of command.
The main plot and subplots build and build and build. Rivalries intensify. People are killed. On both sides. Audiences will watch, on the edge of their seats, knowing that an end will come at some price and wondering who will pay it.
Hard to take your eyes off the screen. Hard to wrap your head around a racist cult called “The Order,” which seems as relevant and threatening today as it did 40 years ago. Head spinning crime/thriller filmmaking.
Photo courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival
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Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.