Movie Review 10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 

Directed by Gil Junger

Written by Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith 

Starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Larisa Oleynik

Release Date March 31st, 1999 

Published March 5th, 2023 

It is a genuine effort that I have to make to like 10 Things I Hate About You. It's, honestly, a chore. I want to love this movie. I know that I did love it when it was released in 1999. But, I was also a relatively young film critic with a serious crush on Julia Stiles and a desire to be Heath Ledger. To say my objectivity was compromised would be very fair. Watching it again as the classic for the March 6th, 2023, episode of the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast, the chore of trying to be someone who likes 10 Things I Hate About You really presented itself. 

10 Things I Hate About You stars Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford. Kat is the 'Shrew' who must be 'Tamed' in the Shakespearean sense, the film is a loose adaptation of the Bard's Taming of the Shrew and the filmmakers really, really, want you to remember that. Awkward dialogue exchanges and obvious name conventions make the forced effort to underline Shakespeare thuddingly obvious if you aren't willing yourself to ignore the awkwardness. 

Kat has developed a reputation for beating up the boys at her High School. She refuses to date anyone as she sees the High School boys as beneath her. The story of 10 Things I Hate About You kicks in when a pair of boys begin to vie for the affection of Kat's sister, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik). When Bianca approaches her father for permission to date he decides that Bianca can date only when her sister decides to date. Knowing Kat, that may not happen until she leaves for college. 

Armed with this information from Bianca, nice guy Cameron (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and High School bad boy Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), launch a plan. They will pay someone to seduce Kat into dating. After After being turned down by a series of guys who put over Kat's reputation as a ballbuster of a most literal sort, the schemers settle on Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), a student with a reputation of his own. It's rumored that Patrick has been to jail, he's spent time in a mental institution and, he ate an entire duck. 

If anyone is crazy enough to try and date Kat Stratford, it's Patrick Verona. The plan works but, of course, Patrick falls for Kat and when Joey figures out that Cameron is more likely to get a date with Bianca than he is, the plan goes awry in the most obviously expected fashion. There truly is no mystery or even a shred of suspense to this plot. Kat is going to find out that Patrick was paid to date her and she's going to be hurt by that. How the movie resolves that plot is deeply unsatisfying despite a strong, tearful effort by a very game Julia Stiles. 

Read the full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review The Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm (2005) 

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Written by Ehren Kruger

Starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci, 

Release Date August 25th, 2005

Published August 25th, 2005 

Director Terry Gilliam's unrelenting clashes with the powers that be have become Hollywood legend. From Brazil to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to his famously incomplete The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, chronicled in the documentary Lost In La Mancha, Mr. Gilliam has chafed against studio orders as far back as his days as a cartoonist for the famed Monty Python.

Given his proclivity for challenging authority it seemed more than a little unusual that  Gilliam would go to work for noted control freak Harvey Weinstein for his latest film. Not surprisingly, this film also became mired in another of Mr. Gilliam's battles and has suffered for it. After languishing on the shelf for nearly two years, the compromised vision of Mr. Gilliam and Mr. Weinstein is now onscreen in the mixed up form of The Brothers Grimm.

Conflict is what marks all of The Brothers Grimm. From the behind the scenes issues between Gilliam and Weinstein such as the casting of Lena Headey over the director's first choice Samantha Morton to the conflict of the films script vs it's tone and the conflict of the films budget and special effects. Finally the conflict between Miramax and Disney that played at least a small part in the film being shelved for nearly 2 years.

Terry Gilliam nearly quit the picture after the brothers Weinstein, Harvey and Bob said no to casting Samantha Morton in the role of Angelika that finally went to the little known Lena Headey. This was followed closely by the firing of Gilliam's cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, reportedly because he worked too slowly.

Then there is the script credited to Ehren Kruger, famous for his weak-kneed horror scripts The Ring and its sequel. Mr. Gilliam claims the Writers Guild gave Mr. Kruger credit, though it was he and writing partner Tony Grisoni that delivered much of the final product.  Gilliam and Grisoni carry a credit after Mr. Kruger's as "Dress Pattern Makers".

Finally, rumored battles over the budget, compromised by the loss of MGM as a producing partner with Miramax, lead to production being shut down. Mr. Gilliam left the project long enough to complete a whole other film, Tideland. When he returned he completed reshoots, music ,and effects though not necessarily to anyone's satisfaction. The special effects in Brothers Grimm seem especially compromised. The bad cartoon CGI that brings to life the films werewolf is video game quality at best. CGI effects are still among the most expensive elements of filmmaking so one does not have to speculate as to what aspect of the film suffered the most from budget constraints.

One element of the film that survived all of this conflict is the performance of Matt Damon. As Will Grimm the huckster hustler of the Brothers, Damon turns on the charm and shows a flair for comedy that he has famously said he is terrified of. Mr. Damon would much rather play dramatic roles but when the opportunity to work with Terry Gilliam arose, he fought to take part and step outside his comfort zone.  He was initially offered the quieter part of Jakob that eventually went to Heath Ledger. The film is better for  Damon's effort.

The same cannot be said of Mr. Ledger who struggles with the more subdued role. It is ironic that Johnny Depp was once rumored for this part because Jakob as played by Mr. Ledger is a litany of mannerisms very reminiscent of Mr. Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of The Caribbean crossed with his effeminate intellectual Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow. Homage is not a bad thing but here it only serves to make one wonder how Mr. Depp might have really played the role.

Matt Damon stars as Wilhelm Grimm, the snake oil salesman of the famous Brothers Grimm. With his brother Jakob, Wil sells stories of witches and enchantment to the villagers of hinterland Germany in the 1800's. Utilizing Jakob's scientific wizardry and knowledge of folklore, the brothers stage their ghosts and witches and lure the villagers into paying to get rid of them.

It's a profitable racket until invading French soldiers capture the brothers and force them to take on a real case of enchantment. Lead by General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) and his second in command, the torturous Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), the French want the brothers to determine whether a series of disappearances in a small German countryside forest are the work of hucksters like themselves or something more sinister.

With Cavaldi in tow the Brothers head for the forest with the help of a female guide, Angelika (Lena Headey) whose father and two sisters also disappeared in this forest. Once inside the group comes to a gothic tower with no visible entrance. Inside the tower is the cursed Mirror Queen whose enchantments are directly related to the missing girls. They also encounter a werewolf and trees that come to life with bloodthirsty intentions.

The plot is adventurous and fun in description but in execution it's mixed up and very confused. Brothers Grimm lurches uncomfortably between family friendly adventure and surreal gothic horror. Director Terry Gilliam is certainly comfortable with the surreal part but the family friendly adventure has never been his forte and you can sense a conflict of tone between Ehren Kruger's safe script and Gilliam's darker tones.

Movie Review Monster's Ball

Monster's Ball (2002) 

Directed by Marc Forster 

Written by Milo Addica

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Sean Puffy Combs, Peter Boyle 

Release Date February 8th, 2002 

Published February 7th, 2002 

In my continuing effort to become a more well-rounded filmgoer, I have considered taking an acting class. It might be helpful in understanding just how difficult this craft truly is. After seeing Monster's Ball with Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry, I can save the tuition price. I simply need to purchase this DVD and watch it a few more times as this film is a lesson in what great acting is all about.

The story begins with prison guards preparing for an execution. Billy Bob Thornton is Hank the head guard. Hank has just hired his son Sonny, played by Heath Ledger, to be part of the crew and the execution of Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs). It will be the first he has ever taken part in. As Lawrence prepares for his execution he is visited for the last time by his wife Leticia (Halle Berry) and his only son Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun). Lawrence wants a meaningful goodbye but Leticia explains that she is only there so he can say goodbye to his son. In one of the film’s most touching moments Combs explains to his son that he is a bad man and that Tyrell is the only good to have come from his life.

As the preparations for the execution continue, Hank explains to Sonny a tradition known as the Monster’s Ball wherein guards sit with the condemned while he prepares to die. Yet again Combs has an effective bit of dialogue as he discusses the difference between drawing a portrait and taking a photo. The drawings will be important later in the film but not in the way you would expect.

After the execution, a shocking series of events leads Leticia into the arms of Hank, not knowing that Hank had taken part in her husband’s execution. The relationship between Hank and Leticia is complicated, not just because Hank is white and Leticia is black, but because of Hank's father Buck (Peter Boyle), a twisted old racist who has destroyed the lives of everyone he has come into contact with, with his hatred. There are also a series of tragic events that give Hank and Leticia more common ground, albeit a common ground based on pure sadness and desperation.

Both Thornton and Berry are outstanding, they put on a clinic for actors with their perfectly pitched roles. The romance between these two desperate and needy people is communicated by looks and gestures that are uncomfortable and tentative but also tender and longing. The supporting cast is equally good, especially Combs whose natural delivery brings a realistic depth to his character. Heath Ledger deserves extra credit for taking on this highly unglamorous role, his Sonny is skinny and desperately weak willed. Ledger sells it even with a suspect southern accent.

Director Marc Foster pores on the tragedy and sadness. At times it seems a little too much and yet he does manage to make a film that is surprisingly romantic and uplifting. Monsters Ball develops slowly but once Berry and Thornton come together the film lifts to amazing heights. I highly recommend Monster's Ball.

Movie Review The Four Feathers

The Four Feathers (2002) 

Directed by Shakur Kapur 

Written by Michael Schiffer, Hossein Amini 

Starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Sheen, 

Release Date September 20th, 2002 

Published September 19th, 2002 

Director Shakar Kapur splashed on the scene with 1998's spectacular Elizabeth. While Cate Blanchett made the movie brilliant, Kapur's production design made it beautiful. In Kapur's new film, The Four Feathers, Kapur's lush visual style is in place. Unfortunately, he doesn't have Cate Blanchett to save the film’s weak dialogue and characters.

Heath Ledger stars as Harry Favisham, an up and coming British soldier under the command of his father and soon to marry Ethne, played by Kate Hudson. American Beauty's Wes Bentley plays Harry's best friend Jack Durrance. Also a soldier, Jack is nursing a jealous crush on Ethne. When Harry and Jack's regiment is told they will be shipping out to war in the Sudan, Jack is excited to finally have the opportunity to fight for his country, Harry isn't so sure. 

Deciding that his fear of death outweighs his love of country, Harry resigns his commission and leaves the Army. After learning of Harry's actions his friends, except for Jack, send him 3 feathers. The feathers are a symbol of cowardice. The fourth feather, as mentioned by the film’s title, comes not from Jack, but from Ethne who decides social status is more important than love.

Disgraced and alone, Harry follows the troops movements through community bulletin boards where the army places lists of soldiers who have died. After hearing that his former regiment had taken heavy casualties, Harry heads for Sudan to help them. Once in Sudan Harry nearly dies trying to find the British troops. He is saved by an African slave named Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou). We’re not certain why Abou saves Harry, nor do we know why he stays with him to keep him safe, Harry does nothing to earn Abou's loyalty.

There are other plot strands in The Four Feathers but nothing very memorable. It's mostly filler, something to do while Kapur and cinematographer Robert Richardson make a lovely Sudanese travel video. If it weren't for endless civil wars and lack of clean water, Sudan might be a beautiful place to visit. At least as it looks, according to Kapur and Richardson. Actually the film was shot in Morocco, so who knows what Sudan actually looks like. The cinematography, no matter where it took place, is at times breathtaking.

The performances and story of The Four Feathers are the film’s weakest points. Ledger, desperately trying to break out of the teen hunk mold, never paints a realistic portrait of a British soldier. He is at times too goofy or too emotional. His traits are too Americanized to be British. Both Hudson and Bentley, who are actually Americans, have the same problems Ledger does though to their credit their accents weren't bad.

The film’s biggest problem is the narrative, which asks the audience to root for a character, Harry, who is a coward. Harry has no conviction and no politics; he is simply a coward too afraid to lay down his life for his country. Some Hero! Had Harry had some real intellectual reason as to why he would not go to war he would be easy to identify with, as there were numerous good reasons to not go to war. For one, why Sudan? It's not like it served any strategic purpose, it's just a desert. Why fight a war in which the sole purpose is killing enough people to be able to claim useless desert land? These however are my reasons for not going to war, not Harry's. He was just a chicken.

Bentley's Jack is no better. While he didn't condemn his friend’s cowardice with a feather he does use it as justification to make a move on Ethne. Even after learning of Harry's going to Sudan to save him, the weasel hides the information from Ethne whom he intends to marry. As for Hudson, her Ethne might have better been named “plot device,” as she is merely in place to provide motivation to the male leads. Hudson, who was spectacular in Almost Famous, never creates a real character in The Four Feathers, her role could have been played by anyone and had the same impact.

The Four Feathers has the visual style of a sweeping desert war epic, but lacks the heart and ingenuity necessary for epic filmmaking. The Four Feathers suffers in comparison this weekend to the limited re-release of Lawrence Of Arabia, the template for sweeping war epics. Lawrence Of Arabia makes The Four Feathers look like a high school production.

Movie Review I'm Not There

I'm Not There (2007) 

Directed by Todd Haynes 

Written by Todd Haynes

Starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Release Date November 21st, 2007

Published November 20th, 2007

Employing six different actors to portray the life of Bob Dylan, director Todd Haynes paints a strange and fascinating portrait of this enigmatic legend. I'm Not There stars 12 year old Marcus Carl Franklin as Woody Guthrie. Riding the rails to New Jersey to visit the real Guthrie who is on his deathbed.

Franklin represents the young Dylan who did indeed visit an ailing Woody Guthrie in a New Jersey hospital and as "Woody Guthrie" tells a pair of hobos in a boxcar he played music with Bobby Vee and wrote songs with Carl Perkins. Watch the segments with Marcus Carl Franklin and the whole of the story of Dylan's life is glimpsed up until his disillusionment in the wake of the JFK assassination.

That Franklin is an African American is a nod to Dylan's roots. Though born in Minnesota, Dylan's music has distinctly southern roots. His music was born listening black bluesmen on the radio. As he got older the country and folk traditions came to dominate his work but the influence of the blues remained, especially in his complex lyrics layered in subtext, bitter sadness and dark humor.

Teenager Ben Whishaw plays Dylan just before stardom. Being interrogated by reporters, this version of Dylan, calling himself "Arthur Rimbaud" is an esoteric poet both cynical and naive yet demonstrating the complex wordplay that would become his trademark.

Christian Bale plays Dylan the rising star. Under the guise of Jack Rollins, this version of Dylan is shy and unassuming, pulled toward stardom reluctantly as he is swept up in the politics of the time and by the love of a fellow artist Alice Fabian (Julianne Moore), who stands in for Joan Baez.

Bale returns late in the film as another Dylan, the born again christian preaching the gospel from the stage but playing only to small audiences of oldsters and their restless young children.The sight of this Dylan playing and proselytizing to small audiences acknowledges one of the many low points of the man's life and another of his unique musical digressions. Dylan recorded two less than stellar gospel albums in the early 80's. 

I'm Not There fractures it's universe with a character named Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger) who, though not a musician, portrays Dylan the family man. Clark is an actor who plays Jack Rollins in a movie. We then watch as Clark meets and falls in love with an artist named Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). They have two children.

Clark's being an actor is pretty basic symbolism, Dylan played the role of family man without really living it. Ledger inhabits the self absorbed artist well as well as Dylan's fatherly ambivalence with great ease and the kind of charm that only a star can project. Even as a jerk you can see what draws people to him.

Cate Blanchett plays Jude Quinn as Dylan in his cynical, drugged out mid-sixties era. Arguably at his creative peak, this version of Dylan is also at his most self absorbed and combative and Blanchett captures it perfectly, showing exactly why she received an Oscar nomination for this gender bending role.

Blanchett captures Dylan the defiant, Dylan the uncompromising and Dylan the jerk at the time when he was successful enough to be a jerk and get away with it. It was during this period when Dylan went electric and Haynes captures the moment with brief visual jokes that show off not only his but Dylan's underestimated sense of humor.

Arguably the most unusual and inexplicable version of Dylan to emerge in I'm Not There is that portrayed by Richard Gere. As "William Bonney" this version of Dylan may be just how Dylan sees himself, a loner cowboy who fights for truth and justice but is cynical and weary enough to accept that he can't change the world.

My description seems to put these lives of Dylan in a particular order but the film doesn't proceed in a linear fashion. Rather, Director Haynes drops in on these versions of Dylan as if they were different people in different stories and essentially they are united only by the music of Bob Dylan.

Fans of Dylan will be thrilled by the depth of I'm Not There picking up on inside jokes and insights into his motivations that will remain mysterious to those unfamiliar with the legend and his unique life story. I was not familiar with most of the story but rather than being out in the cold, I was intrigued to find out what I was missing.

For me, I'm Not There inspired curiosity and wonder. I wanted to know what I was missing and reading about Dylan only deepened the experience of I'm Not There, even after having seen it. This is a glorious piece of work, inspiring, eclectic and endlessly fascinating.

Though it does drag near the end of its slightly overlong 2 hour 6 minute runtime and the Gere character can seem trying and puzzling, overall the good of I'm Not There far outweighs the bad. The flaws even add a bit of charm to the film as if included as commentary on Dylan's many flaws.

I truly cannot say enough good things about I'm Not There.

Movie Review Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown (2005) 

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

Written by Stacy Peralta 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Heath Ledger, Michael Angarano 

Release Date June 3rd, 2005 

Published June 2nd, 2005 

If there is one character trait that defines the southern California surf kids turned skateboard legends profiled so memorably in the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys and now in the film Lords of Dogtown it is an uncompromising will to do whatever they want. However, compromise is exactly what Lords of Dogtown is. Compromised to achieve maximum mainstream appeal at the expense of the colorful characters that so obviously populate its cast.

Lords of Dogtown is the autobiographical account of the rise of skateboard culture in Southern California in the 1970s and the leaders of this new sport's aesthetic. Written by Z-Boy Stacey Perralta we know the story is authentic but it's also obviously compromised for mainstream appeal by director Catherine Hardwicke and a glut of suits from Columbia Pictures eager to tap the rebellious cool of skateboard culture for a quick buck.

John Robinson, so memorable in Gus Van Sant's indie flick Elephant, plays Peralta as a straight arrow kid whose only personality seems to come from his skateboarding. With his friends Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch; Secret Lives Of Altar Boys) and Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk; Raising Victor Vargas), Perralta grabbed his skateboard just to have a good time after school and ended up finding a calling that would last the rest of his life.

It is the life arcs of these three characters that are the thrust of the drama of Lords Of Dogtown, unfortunately scenes that might expand and deepen those arcs are left on the cutting room floor seemingly to give the film a more marketable run time of just under two hours and to make room for more skating scenes, also a nod to the marketing department.

It's a shame because anyone who saw the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys Directed by Mr. Perralta knows that these kids' lives were just as fascinating as their athleticism. In Lords Of Dogtown there are a number of nods in the direction of these characters and the moments that would change and define their lives but they too often get cut short.

I do not blame director Catherine Hardwicke entirely for the compromised nature of Lords of Dogtown. It seems all throughout the film that she is trying to dig deeper but is constantly being undermined by the studio and its final say in the film's cut.

Everything from the look of the film-- this gorgeous amber hue that captures the heat of the streets of Santa Monica-- to the casting of hot young indie talents like Hirsch and Rasuk to even the hiring of Ms. Hardwicke has the feel of indie barbarians crashing the gates of corporate Hollywood. Sadly you can't fight city hall and you damn sure can't fight the marketing department of a major corporate studio.

Jay Adams' story is the kind of tragedy that great drama is made of. While Stacey Perralta and Tony Alva traveled the world on their skateboards, Adams stayed behind in Dogtown, the nickname for the shoreside ghetto of Santa Monica California, and fell into all of the typical traps: gangs, drugs and violence. Watching the impetuous and impish Adams in the person of the terrific Emile Hirsch go from beach blonde skateboarder to bald headed tattooed gangster and eventually on to prison is a very dramatic arc that gets merely glossed over in the film so that we can get to see more skateboarding.

Perralta and Alva get equally glossed over treatments. The only impression the film leaves of Stacey Perralta is that of a straight arrow, almost nerdy child saint who is about as rebellious as a Hanson concert. As for Alva, his legendary ego is well played by Victor Rasuk but that seems to be his only character trait aside from his astonishing skills on a skateboard.

Skateboarders and fans of the sport will find a lot to love about Lords of Dogtown. The skateboarding is pretty spectacular and terrifically filmed. Though it's not nearly as breathtaking as it is in the documentary footage in Dogtown and Z Boys, it's still quite good and will appeal to fans of the sport.

The film also features a very entertaining performance by Heath Ledger as the skate shop owner and Z-Boys guru Skip Engblom. Ledger does not nearly get the screen time he needs to fully flesh out this character but fans of the actor may find this to be some of his best work.

Lords of Dogtown is a disappointment for fans of the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys who realized while watching the doc what an extraordinary story could be told about these characters. It would have to have been a sprawling three hour multi-character piece in the Paul Thomas Anderson spirit to work, but it definitely could have worked. Instead, Lords Of Dogtown is yet another compromised product of the Hollywood corporate mindset. Well acted and professionally directed but nearly as shallow as the swimming pools where the Z-Boys polished their aesthetic.

Movie Review: The Order

The Order (2003) 

Directed by Brian Helgeland 

Written by Brian Helgeland 

Starring Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossomon, Mark Addy, Benno Furman, Peter Weller

Release Date September 5th, 2003 

Published September 4th, 2003 

It's not Heath Ledger's fault

It's not his fault that even before he finished what was to be his breakout role as a lead actor in A Knight's Tale, that Hollywood's marketing machine was on full blast anointing him the heir apparent to Mel Gibson. It wasn't Ledger's fault that seemingly out of nowhere Hollywood had decided that audiences loved Heath Ledger. He hadn't had a top-line-starring role yet and already he was on every magazine cover and his name was being mentioned in company with box office heavyweights like Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise.

A Knight's Tale went on to gross over $100 million dollars but no actor could live up to that hype and his next film, the stolid but beautiful looking Four Feathers, bombed miserably. Even before that failure Ledger had another film albatross around his neck called The Order, a film made as a favor to Director Brian Helgeland soon after completing A Knight's Tale.

In The Order, Ledger plays Father Alex Bernier, a New York priest for a strange and largely ignored Catholic sect. Father Alex's mentor back in the holy city of Rome has been killed and the Catholic hierarchy wants Father Alex to investigate the circumstances. The death is seemingly a suicide but on closer inspection, Alex begins to suspect murder.

With the help of a fellow priest played by Mark Addy, and an oddball romantic interest played by Shannyn Sossamon, Father Bernier slowly uncovers a conspiracy within the church that could result in a new pope. The conspiracy involves a supernatural being known as the Sin Eater (Benno Furmann), a deity who can send anyone to heaven with a clean slate of sin. Through ritual, the Sin Eater takes in the evil committed by men of power allowing them a free pass into heaven. It is the Sin Eater who killed Alex's mentor and Alex wants revenge. What the Sin Eater wants is Alex.

Here is the odd thing about the Sin Eater, though he is the bad guy, the things he does actually don't seem that bad. He seems to serve a purpose that some might call admirable. He absolves the sins of people who are near death and are uncertain about their chances to get into heaven. Whether he can get them there or not is unimportant, it just seems that the comfort he provides to the dying is something to be admired.

Peter Weller shows up in The Order in a vaguely sinister role as the possible new pope, a badly underwritten role that makes little sense. But then, not much of The Order makes sense. As written by Director Brian Helgeland, it's a story that has an interesting religious hook but doesn't know what to do with it. It doesn't help that the dialogue is stiflingly dull with both Ledger and Sossoman delivering their lines in sullen monotones that sound as if they were rehearsing their lines rather than actually performing them. 

Disdain for the church is fair, in my eyes, considering the recent scandals and painting the church as harboring the ultimate evils is a clever allegory to use in a movie plot. Unfortunately The Order isn't interested in symbolism. The Order is a straight genre suspense flick with supernatural overtones and has no other aspiration. It's a shame because religious-themed mysteries are an undeserved dramatic context. With all the vagaries of religious text, the mystery and suspense that can be found in religion is endless.

This film however is only interested in it's minor twists and jolts, none of which rise to the genre of horror which some have ascribed it to. There are neither enough blood nor scares for The Order to be called a horror film. As I stated at the front, I don't think that the path of Heath Ledger's career is his fault. There is a streak of independence in Heath Ledger that seems to chafe at the attention he receives for his looks. It's the same look that Johnny Depp had early in his career as he fought off matinee idol pigeonholing. Whether Ledger has the same nose for smart material as Depp has developed, is something he has yet have to prove.