The Order (2003)

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writer (WGA):

Brian Helgeland (written by)

Release Date:

5 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Unleash the power.

Plot:

A young priest is sent to Rome to investigate the troubling death of the head of his order.

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Church | Absolution | Sin | Sin Eater

Cast

Heath Ledger	...	Alex Bernier
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Mara Sinclair
Benno Fürmann	...	William Eden
Mark Addy	...	Thomas Garrett
Peter Weller	...	Driscoll
Francesco Carnelutti	...	Dominic
Mattia Sbragia	...	Apathetic Bishop
Mirko Casaburo	...	Little Boy
Giulia Lombardi	...	Little Girl
Richard Bremmer	...	Bookstore Owner
Cristina Maccà	...	Sister Franca
Paola Emilia Villa	...	Sister Marie
Rosalinda Celentano	...	Faraway Eyes Girl
Alessandra Costanzo	...	Eden's Maid
Paolo Lorimer	...	Englishman

Also Known As:

The Sin Eater (Australia) (Singapore: English title) (UK) (USA) (working title)
Sin Eater - Die Seele des Bösen (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent images, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | Aramaic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Sweden:15 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:R21 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #39328)

Filming Locations:

Caserta, Campania, Italy

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Heath Ledger and Shannyn Sossamon previously appeared together in A Knight's Tale (2001).

Goofs:

Continuity: After the investigators have been given the knife by Driscoll, the knife moves around on the table between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alex Bernier: Every life is a riddle. The answer to mine is knowledge, born of darkness.
Alex Bernier: It wasn't always so. In the beginning, I still had questions. In the beginning, my mystery still remained.

Movie Connections:

Features A Knight's Tale (2001)

Soundtrack:

Due Croci

I order you back to Hell!' Well I order you to save your ten dollars

The head of the Carolingian order is killed and one of the last members is called to investigate the death. The Carolingians fight demons, apparitions and perform exorcisms. Can he stop a murderer who is not human?

Apparently all that is required to banish the most powerful denizens of hell is a small wooden Crucifix and the Chant'.I order you back to Hell!' Well I order you to save your ten dollars. Ledger, Sossamon and even Addy are not the problem in this film. The borderline special effects are also not the problem in this film. The problem is this film's trailer (the preview for the film) that promises a horror thriller with a mysterious supernatural killer, involving rogue priests. The problem is the trailer writes checks that the plot can't cash. Now I know we have enough rogue priests in our regular everyday life, but these rogue priests have cool black crucifix tattooed on their legs. The entire cast which, seems to be little more than a Knight's Tale reunion all turn in great performances. The first Forty-five minutes make me think of Stigmata with a taste of The Exorcist. After that it becomes boring, predictable and criminally unimaginative. Not only is it not scary or suspenseful after that, but it wastes what was shapping up to be a fine plot. Originally scheduled to release Jan 17, 2002 it was postponed to redo the special effects, maybe the plot should have received a rework as well.

Though not big box office fare, the special effects weren't completely horrible. The sets were actually very nice and I liked St. Peters in particular. Maybe a Hollywood clone would do the justice that this movie couldn't, or even a direct to video movie about the Carolingians in which we pretend the first movie didn't even exist.