“The Order” (20th Century Fox)
Director Brian Helgeland was the force behind the film “A Knight’s Tale.” Along with his cast, which included Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon and Mark Addy; he managed to make it into a minor hit. Now he has written, produced and directed the new film “The Order.” He has also brought along Ledger, Sossamon and Addy as stars. But lightning is not going to strike twice with this group. “The Order” is a dark, dreary film that never finds its way into the sunlight of success.
The movie opens with the death of a priest named Dominic (Francesco Carnelutti). It is ruled that he has committed suicide so he is not eligible to be buried in the sanctified ground of the Church’s cemetery. When word reaches Alex (Ledger), Dominic’s protge’, he is stunned by the news. He and his friend Mara (Sossamon) hop a plane for Rome so that Alex can look into what truly transpired.
They are joined there by another priest named Thomas (Addy). He, Alex and Dominic were all part of the same Order of priests and are bound by this shared background. Thomas and Alex have a feeling that a “sin eater” was somehow involved with Dominic’s death. A “sin eater” is a man who takes the sins of the dying person upon himself and thus allows the deceased’s soul to go to Heaven.
Alex finally tracks down the “sin eater,” a man named William Eden (Benno Furmann). He has been alive for more than six hundred years and is looking for a successor. The crux of the movie then becomes whether or not Alex will take on this role.
The movie is so dark in its settings, and so dreary in its telling, that the audience never musters up much interest in what Alex is going to do. They just want him to let the sun shine in somewhere and get some life in the script.
Ledger seems totally uncomfortable with his role, and veers between mumbling incomprehensibly and hysterically overacting. Sossamon drifts sleepily through her role and Addy seems to be imitating a road company’s Friar Tuck.
The film is rated R for profanity and violence.
It is difficult to understand the theme of this film. It has something to do with a battle between good and evil but I could never figure out who was on which side. I guess good won, but I am not sure.
Ledger was on a roll with “The Patriot” and then “A Knight’s Tale”, but “The Four Feathers” and this tepid tale are quickly turning him into Heath who He had better get some “order” in his career plans and be a little pickier when it comes to scripts.
I scored “The Order” a disorderly 3 out of 10.
