Australian director Justin Kurzel’s latest crime thriller, The Order, captivated audiences at its world premiere during the Venice Film Festival, earning an impressive nine-minute, 23-second standing ovation. The film premiered on Thursday evening at the prestigious Sala Grande, marking a significant moment in this year’s festival competition.
The star-studded cast, including Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, and Jurnee Smollett, were present at the screening and shared in the celebration, embracing each other as the applause continued. Jude Law, who plays the film’s lead role, acknowledged the audience’s warm reception with a wave, as the ovation grew louder with the appearance of each cast member’s name in the credits.
Set against the backdrop of the 1980s Pacific Northwest, The Order delves into a series of bank robberies and car heists that terrorized local communities. The narrative follows a lone FBI agent, portrayed by Law, who begins to suspect that the crimes are connected not to financial gain but to a dangerous domestic terrorist group. This group, depicted in the film as the white supremacist gang ‘The Order,’ is led by Nicholas Hoult’s character.
The film is adapted from the 1989 non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, which explores real events surrounding the criminal activities of a white supremacist group in the United States.
During a press conference earlier in the day, Hoult revealed that he and Law intentionally avoided interacting for the first four weeks of filming to better portray their characters’ adversarial relationship. Reflecting on the film’s themes, Law remarked, “Sadly, the relevance speaks for itself. It felt like a piece of work that needed to be made now.”
Director Justin Kurzel echoed this sentiment, stating, “I think we live at a time now that was reflected in the film, where there is division, and there’s a lot of conversation about the future and about ideologies. The film was about an ideology that’s incredibly dangerous and how it can quickly take seed… I think that’s a timeless thing, not only in America but in Australia too.”
The Order is set for a US release in December through Vertical, with international distribution managed by Amazon Prime Video. The film’s powerful narrative and timely themes have already made it a standout at the Venice Film Festival, and it is poised to make a significant impact upon its wider release.
