The Order (2003)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

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 | Sweden:15 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (TV 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:

Originally scheduled for January 17, 2002, the film's release date was postponed when the visual effects had to be redone because they were thought to be unintentionally funny. According to a anonymous source close to the production quoted by Variety magazine, the special effects depicting sins exiting the human body after death looked like "calamari".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: You can see the cable holding the man who was being hanged.

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

Interesting Flick

While I won't say this is great cinema or even historically correct, it wasn't awful as the previous person who posted said it was. Yes there was a cult in a night club (Actually not pagan, it was an offshoot of the Catholic Church)and yes, the "hero" did bring it down, but that wasn't the point of the movie.

The point of the movie was The Sin Eater was tired of doing his job and wanted the "hero" to do take over. Add that to the "hero's" struggle with his faith, his wants and desires and ultimately if he would like to take the place of the Sin Eater.

According to the movie, if you are Catholic and not allowed to go to heaven,(Excommunicated, suicide or any of the other reasons the church could keep you out of heaven) the Sin Eater (for a price) would come and take away your sins and you would then be allowed to go to heaven.

So, yes, it is a religious horror flick (though not really what I call Horror (like Freddy or Jason)) and yes, it is not great, but it is thought provoking if you like that kind of thing.