The Order

Alex Bernier is a priest belonging to an old and nearly extinct order that has long existed at the edges of the Church. When his mentor Dominic dies under suspicious circumstances, Alex travels to Rome to look into the death. Other killings of a similar kind follow, and his inquiry draws him toward William Eden, a figure known as a sin eater, who claims the sins of the dying and is tied to the same order Alex serves. Working alongside his friend Thomas Garrett and the mysterious Driscoll, Alex is forced to weigh what his order has concealed against what Eden offers him.

The Order was directed and written by Brian Helgeland, his third film as director after Payback and A Knight's Tale, and produced by Helgeland with Craig Baumgarten. Heath Ledger plays Alex, with Shannyn Sossamon as Mara Sinclair, Benno Fürmann as Eden, Mark Addy, Peter Weller and Francesco Carnelutti rounding out the cast of thirty-five credited performers. It was made for 35 million dollars and returned about 12 million worldwide, a substantial loss on its budget.

Reception was weak on both sides. On IMDb the film sits at 5.7 from a few hundred votes, while the critics' rating comes in at 3.1 from sixty-one reviews, leaving the audience score noticeably higher than the professional one.