The Order - A Review September 19, 2003
MPAA rating: R
runtime: 102 minutes
The Order is a tale of Vatican intrigue, supernatural forces, un-explained deaths and back doors. Yes, back doors – just keep reading.
Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (Payback, A Knight's Tale), this film stars:
Welcome to the A Knight's Tale reunion!
I never was able to get fully into this movie. I wanted to like it and kept trying to like it, but I just couldn't make full connection. Part of that might have been due to the "dinner theater" arrangement I saw it in, which had the distractions of some low but continuous ambient lighting and the occasional waitress traffic, but I don't think it was. The story has a lot of potential including a truly intriguing part about that back door I mentioned earlier - a "sin eater", the actors/actresses are quite good, filming is generally good, but the story is very uneven and at times confusing with characters with small but important roles introduced without sufficient explanation or detail.
Accompanying the storyline, this is a visually dark film. Nighttime and poorly illuminated indoor shots are prevalent. Candlelight seems to be the light source of choice in Rome, at least in an excommunicated priest's circle. Filmed in Rome, Napoli and Caserta, Italy, there are few long shots unfortunately, as the architecture and scenery in that part of the world can be stunning. Most are in room-sized spaces adding to the closed-in, uncomfortable feel of the story. The color palette as you would expect from these constraints is muted with a preponderance of blacks, dark grays, dark browns and dark blues. Little points of color do pop up every so often, as in a bouquet of brilliant yellow sunflowers, and are almost startling when they do. Detail in some shots – especially close-ups – was quite good, however, a couple of scenes had a soft look to them that didn't really correspond to the mood. The DVD of this film will most definitely be a test of your display system – be warned! Special effects do crop up on occasion and are quite well done, with the exception being one shot of a plane taking off that is clearly CGI and of poor enough quality to be distracting.
The unusual venue I saw this in was quite limited sonically, so my impressions are based on those limits. Dialog is sometimes a bit muddled, which can cause a bit more confusion based on the eclectic subject(s) being covered if you aren't listening very closely. There is a reasonable amount of activity in the surround channels which complement the supernatural atmosphere.
There are some things to be pleased about in this film, but not enough to overcome its weaknesses. I'm still intrigued enough with the premise and characters that I'll purchase the DVD, but it's not a movie I can recommend you purchase without viewing first.
I give The Order :25: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
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MPAA rating: R
runtime: 102 minutes
The Order is a tale of Vatican intrigue, supernatural forces, un-explained deaths and back doors. Yes, back doors – just keep reading.
Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (Payback, A Knight's Tale), this film stars:- Heath Ledger (The Patriot, A Knight's Tale, The Four Feathers) as Alex Bernier
Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale, 40 Days & 40 Nights, Rules Of Attraction) as Mara Sinclair
Benno Furman, a Hollywood new-comer with a long history in European cinema (40+ films) as William Eden
Mark Addy (The Full Monty, A Knight's Tale, The Time Machine) as Thomas Garrett
Peter Weller (The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai, Robocop, Shakedown) as Cardinal Driscoll
Welcome to the A Knight's Tale reunion!
I never was able to get fully into this movie. I wanted to like it and kept trying to like it, but I just couldn't make full connection. Part of that might have been due to the "dinner theater" arrangement I saw it in, which had the distractions of some low but continuous ambient lighting and the occasional waitress traffic, but I don't think it was. The story has a lot of potential including a truly intriguing part about that back door I mentioned earlier - a "sin eater", the actors/actresses are quite good, filming is generally good, but the story is very uneven and at times confusing with characters with small but important roles introduced without sufficient explanation or detail.
Accompanying the storyline, this is a visually dark film. Nighttime and poorly illuminated indoor shots are prevalent. Candlelight seems to be the light source of choice in Rome, at least in an excommunicated priest's circle. Filmed in Rome, Napoli and Caserta, Italy, there are few long shots unfortunately, as the architecture and scenery in that part of the world can be stunning. Most are in room-sized spaces adding to the closed-in, uncomfortable feel of the story. The color palette as you would expect from these constraints is muted with a preponderance of blacks, dark grays, dark browns and dark blues. Little points of color do pop up every so often, as in a bouquet of brilliant yellow sunflowers, and are almost startling when they do. Detail in some shots – especially close-ups – was quite good, however, a couple of scenes had a soft look to them that didn't really correspond to the mood. The DVD of this film will most definitely be a test of your display system – be warned! Special effects do crop up on occasion and are quite well done, with the exception being one shot of a plane taking off that is clearly CGI and of poor enough quality to be distracting.
The unusual venue I saw this in was quite limited sonically, so my impressions are based on those limits. Dialog is sometimes a bit muddled, which can cause a bit more confusion based on the eclectic subject(s) being covered if you aren't listening very closely. There is a reasonable amount of activity in the surround channels which complement the supernatural atmosphere.
There are some things to be pleased about in this film, but not enough to overcome its weaknesses. I'm still intrigued enough with the premise and characters that I'll purchase the DVD, but it's not a movie I can recommend you purchase without viewing first.
I give The Order :25: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker
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