The Order

Certainly something different - a religious-based 'sci-fi' drama. Sin Eater, as it's known in UK, is a complicated story of love, fate, realisation, and a hint of gothic underworld religion thrown in. As Alex, the main character, is informed his mentor has died, he gets drawn into something which could alter his own destiny.

Without wanting to give away the entire plot Sin Eater is a movie which takes risks - it's not afraid of its take on religion and is filmed with panache, boasts good performances, and some effective cinematography.

Fine effort.

In this film, a young Catholic priest is sent to Rome to investigate the death of the superior of his congregation, ending up with a scenario that crosses the supernatural with the mystery. This plot looks perfect for a horror movie, doesn't it? But this isn't the case and this is one of the problems because it clashes with public's expectations, since half of them goes in search of horror. Despite this risk, the plot is interesting, engaging and manages to create an atmosphere that makes you stick to the screen to see what will happen. Its evident from the beginning that this priests are totally unorthodox and would hardly be priests in real life, but the movie's credibility depends more on how willing you are to swallow the "sin eater" story. Personally, I didn't have major problems with that, even though everything stinks false. Despite the cold start and the slow pace, the film grows as it unfolds and the final is very good, but I was able to anticipate it sensibly from the middle.

The film has some well-known actors, starting with Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann and Peter Weller. This last name was probably the most renowned and experienced at the time and he did a positive work, but his character was so secondary that he had very little to work with. The others limited themselves to doing what they really had to do, without merit or brilliance, in woody performances that didn't add anything praiseworthy to their careers. Cinematography presents nothing particularly interesting as well but the few special effects used are far better than the avalanche of bad CGI that some films present to the public.

Far from being a good movie, this is a medium-quality thriller that fits anyone who likes the genre or just wants to spend some time idle. Its not good enough to deserve a second watch, nor its bad enough for you to consider poorly spent the time you've been watching it.

Although I really, really liked this movie, I must admit it's not for everyone, and here's why. The Order encompasses one or two intriguing ideas gone a bit awry.

A priest (played by Heath Ledger) is called upon to investigate the apparent suicide of his mentor, and uncovers the mystery of an ancient being, the Sin Eater, who is able to absolve the sins of those (unrepentant sinners, excommunicated persons, suicides) a normal Catholic priest would be unable to forgive due to church dogma. The knowledge of this creature forces the priest to face his own conflicted feelings about the priesthood. Before he has even begun to sort out his confusion, the larger plot begins to unravel and he finds that he has been at the center of it for longer than he had ever realized.

Well, it would have been excellent if left at that and fleshed out for the 100-minute duration, but it was not to be. The best bits of turmoil and conflict, of passion and temptation and surrender, were skimmed through so quickly it seemed as if someone thought they were the annoying-but-necessary bits when they should have been the real meat of the film. The rest was a clogged up mess of random (and inexplicable) demon children, a power-hungry cardinal, and worst of all: a love interest who had absolutely no chemistry with the main character, an accent that was completely out of place, a confusingly pointless back story, and who seemed incongruous with the setting and plot. Sadly, there were very few shots of the film's locations, only one wide shot of Rome in fact, which could have been used to set the tone much more effectively than all those shadows and candlelight.

That all said, there were many redeeming features. The soundtrack was hit-and-miss, but more hit than miss and at least it was never distracting. The duo of Ledger and Mark Addy was charming and the chemistry between Ledger's character and "William Eden" (played by Benno Fürmann) was sizzling. That adversarial relationship should have been the focus of the film rather than a sort of easter egg hunt during bits of the second half, but it was more than enough for me to consider this movie an hour and a half well spent.

I must disagree with many of the reviewers on this film. I consider The Order to be a mature, well-constructed horror story. The "horror" is subtle at first, but it builds, along with the suspense, into several, intense episodes that culminate the film decisively. It is a complex flux of development, change and ever-increasing intensity of suspense and anxiety. As with any horror film, indeed almost any film, one must become immersed in the culture and story that is created. One must assume certain elements of the film to be valid, then flow with the plot. The Order fills all of the requirements of a good horror tale, done smoothly and skillfully. The characters and the actors portraying them fit well into the development of it all. I was most impressed with the lead actress. Her portrayal was stunningly sympathetic. And I really loved the ending. It melded all of the elements of the film together in a satisfying conclusion. This film creates a sense of doom and inevitability that constantly grows with its progression. That is what drew me to keep watching. I am not generally a fan of "Religious" horror. I shall gladly make an exception for The Order.

In New York, Alex Bernier (Ledger) is a young priest and one of the three last members of an arcane order called Carolingians. When the old leader of the order dies, Alex goes to Rome with his friend Mara Sinclair (Shannyn Sossamon), a troubled painter who tried suicide in the past and for whom Alex is in love with. Thomas Garret (Mark Addy), the other member of the Carolingians, meets them in Rome. Alex notes that the body of the old priest bears two marks on the chest and a further investigation reveals that they are the symbol of the 'Sin Eater', a renegade priest called William Eden (Benno Fürmann) who exchanges absolution per money. Lots of mystery surrounds Alex, Mara and Thomas while they stay in Rome. This movie has a good premise, cast, director, photography, budget, locations, but something is missing or does not work well, and in the end the plot is very confused and quite boring. A waste of a good idea. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): 'Devorador de Pecado' ('Sin Eater')