CRITIQUES – The Orderin the running for the Golden Lion, does not even pretend to renew the genre. Wolfout of competition, does not even manage to entertain.
The actors are big children. These little boys in men’s bodies like to play policemen or crooks. Holding a revolver in their hands gives them a childish joy, reminiscent of the fancy dress tea parties of their early youth.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney are no exception. They seem to be having a blast in Wolfpresented out of competition on the lagoon. The problem is that they are the only ones. Jon Watts’ police comedy (three Spider-Man to his credit) is of an unspeakable laziness and emptiness.
The two stars have already shared the screen in Ocean’s ElevenSteven Soderbergh’s trilogy. They have already proven their sense of self-mockery with the Coen brothers, who are excellent at making them play complete morons (Burn after reading, Hail, Caesar!). Jon Watts is less gifted in a similar register. He imagines them as killers called at the same time to the same hotel room to “clean up” a crime scene. Except that the corpse, a young man barely smarter than the two henchmen, is not dead and he has to deliver drugs. This is the pretext for a one-night association between the two aging rivals to fulfill their contract. It is the beginning of a sluggish action comedy with predictable situations.
The two coolest sixty-somethings in Hollywood (forced to wear glasses to read a text message: gag), deserve better than this laborious parody of film noir. At a press conference, they regretted that the theatrical release of Wolf be skipped to land directly on the Apple TV platform. Once again, they are the only ones. With their producers, who are already announcing a sequel.
Service minimum pour The Order
Jude Law, for his part, at least has the merit of taking the thriller seriously with The Orderwhich he produces. The British star plays a mustachioed FBI agent worn out by his fight against Cosa Nostra – his wife has left him and he has a nosebleed. He doesn’t shy away from clichés. The screenplay is based on a true story, that of Bob Matthews (played by Nicolas Hoult), leader of a gang of white supremacists in the 1980s who commit hold-ups to finance the revolution (the storming of the Capitol is on the agenda).
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Australian director Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Crimes, Nitram) transposes it to the screen without forcing his talent and without worrying too much about creating a lot of suspense. The robberies are almost like trips to the supermarket – we are far from the adrenaline of Heat or of Point break. The investigation proceeds at a leisurely pace, without any notable twists and turns – Tye Sheridan plays the partner of Jude Law, a rookie who has also been seen and reviewed. The political dimension is relegated far into the background.
We have nothing against a classic thriller in competition at a major festival like the Venice Film Festival, but The Order really provides the minimum service.
