Coming back from the theater, I thought the title of the movie I had seen was "The Others." I began to craft my opening paragraph in which I would compare the movie to the hauntingly scary "The Others" to illuminate the vast differences between them, despite the fact that their titles are very similar. Only later did I realize that the title is in fact "The Order." As you can tell, this movie obviously had no lasting effect on me. Oh well, what's in a name? This movie by any other name would be just as bad.
A dull film about corruption in the Catholic Church, spirits and demons, "The Order" stars Heath Ledger as Alex, a young priest in New York. When his mentor, Father Dominic (Francesco Carnelutti), dies in Rome, Alex leaves to investigate his death. Before he leaves, he is joined by Mara (Shannyn Sossaman). Alex performed an exorcism on Mara about a year ago during which she tried to kill him. She has recently escaped from a mental hospital and is drawn back to Alex, who is conflicted over his feelings toward her.Mara and Alex head for Rome, because it's naturally quite easy for an escaped mental patient who is being tracked by the police to leave the country. It's not like they check IDs at airports.
This is not the first time that Ledger and Sossaman have starred together, though it may be the last. They had the romantic leads in "A Knight's Tale," which was a delightfully fun and spirited movie.
This time around, the energy and the fun are gone. Of course, murder, corruption and demonic spirits aren't the most lighthearted of subjects, but there is no internal momentum in the story; it just plods along.
In Rome, Alex and Mara meet up with Thomas (Mark Addy), a priest from Paris and a friend of Alex. Alex and Mara embark on their search for the truth behind Father Dominic's death. The Church rules suicide, but Alex and Thomas believe it was some sort of ritualistic death.
While they stage their own investigation, the three protagonists stay in Father Dominic's apartment, the apparent scene of an otherworldly murder and the resting spot for two demonic children. How cozy. They could have at least tried to look for another place to stay.
Mara proves to be a very convenient character. She is absent for much of the film and appears when she is briefly needed. I suppose she spends all of her time in Father Dominic's creepy apartment.
Alex and Thomas find out that Father Dominic arranged for his death with one called the Sin Eater, or the Order. This specific Sin Eater, William Eden, (Benno Furmann) for centuries has absolved people who the Church has lost favor with by eating their sins. This allows them to enter Heaven, regardless of their pasts.
Alex begins to talk to Eden to try to understand his story and what really happened. It is at about this time that Thomas conveniently drops out of the picture because of a bizarre incident involving some aspect of his past that is never fully explained.
As Alex spends more time with Eden, he begins to question his life, his wants, his desires and his future. "The Order" heaps its plate full of religion, mystery, love, science, corruption and ritual, but this meal is not fully digestible.It does try, and it does have its not-as-horrid moments. Ledger portrays his character earnestly and effectively. He is a good actor, and you can tell that he is trying his best, but the whole project is doomed from the beginning. The character of Thomas provides a few moments of levity, but most of the time the jokes fall flat.
"The Order" and other similar movies are assembled by a formula. One part creepy kids, two parts wrist slitting, add a cup of ancient scrolls, throw in a black mask or two and let ferment in its own disgusting juices.It's ponderous and plodding, and there is too much prophecy and too much emphasis on characters' pasts without fully explaining them or explaining them enough to make sense to the viewer.The ending is a bit absurd -- and not in the artistic "theatre of the absurd" way, but absurd as in ridiculous. More terrifying than the underground cults and sin eating is the fact that the ending leaves room for a possible follow-up. I shudder at the thought. However, I have a feeling with a miserable performance at the box office, the world will be safe from a sequel.
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