VENICE, Italy (AP) 鈥� Jude Law plays an FBI agent investigating the violent crimes of a white supremacist group in 鈥淭he Order,鈥� which premieres Saturday at the .
An adaptation of Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt鈥檚 nonfiction book 鈥淭he Silent Brotherhood,鈥� Nicolas Hoult was cast as Robert Jay Mathews, the charismatic leader of the group which was considered the most radical hate group since the Ku Klux Klan. Their crimes, including bank robberies and armored car heists that the group was using to fund an armed revolution, led to one of the largest manhunts in FBI history, in 1983.
鈥淲hat amazed me was it was a story I hadn鈥檛 heard about before,鈥� said Law, who also produced. 鈥淚t like a piece of work that needed to be made now.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 always interesting finding a piece from the relative past that has some relationship to the present day.鈥�
Law made the trip to Italy with his director, Justin Kurzel, and co-stars Hoult, Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sheridan for the premiere.
His character, called Agent Huss, is an amalgam FBI agent and not based on a specific person. This, they said, was important for positioning him within this story.
鈥淗e represents an awful lot of us,鈥� Law said. 鈥淗e felt his hardest work was behind him and in fact he had his biggest battle ahead of him.鈥�
Kurzel, an Australian filmmaker known for the 2015 adaptation of 鈥淢acbeth鈥� with Michael Fassbender, said he鈥檇 always wanted to make an American film in the vein of dramatic thrillers from the 1970s like 鈥淭he French Connection,鈥� 鈥淢ississippi Burning鈥� and 鈥淎ll the Presidents鈥� Men.鈥� He tried to make this film with the classic simplicity he admired in those classics.
Hoult felt it was a 鈥渄ifficult story to tell and difficult characters to inhabit,鈥� but praised his director for helping to create a safe and creative environment as they explored the darkness of Mathews. He鈥檇 just recently learned, on the boat over to the Lido, that Kurzel had told Law to actually follow him around one day to get into character.
鈥淭he first time we spoke was in the first scene we interact,鈥� Hoult said. 鈥淚t gave a great energy.鈥�
And all were struck by the parallels to today. Though no one wanted to comment directly on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the film, they hope, speaks for itself.
鈥淭he history of America is very complex,鈥� Smollett said. 鈥淭his level of bigotry is not new and it has existed in our nation since it was founded. As artists we get to hold a mirror up to society鈥�.explore the very complex sides of humanity, the ugliness, the darkness in order for us to learn from it and hopefully not repeat it.鈥�
鈥淭he Order鈥� is playing in competition at Venice, alongside 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥淭he Room Next Door," 鈥淨ueer鈥� and 鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux.鈥�
Vertical Entertainment will release the film in theaters later this year.
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
