History Film / TheOrder

* DownerEnding - Eden successfully wins in his goal to die by tricking Alex into killing him so he can become the new Sin Eater after he mistakenly thinks the instructions given to him were how to kill the sin eater permanently and even kills Alex's girlfriend Mara before that so that his plan can work, and now Alex is forced to carry on Eden's work and it's known William will kill him once he finds a way to free Alex of his curse. If there is any uplifting part of this ending, Alex narrates that he will only eat the sins of those who are worth forgiving and let evildoers burn for eternity and he does manage to expose Driscoll's satanic crimes to the Vatican, thus his reputation and plan to become Pope is ruined and Alex then gets his karmic revenge on him when it's revealed that he and Eden teamed up to kill Mara during his very own sin eating ritual.

* AGodAmI - Eden seemed to feel this at first. Alex does, too, when he first absolves a sin.
-->'''Alex:''' I performed the ceremony. I found [[spoiler:Mara]] dying. I did it to set [[spoiler: her]] free.
-->'''Eden:''' How did it feel?
-->'''Alex:''' Like I was God.

->''The terrible thing about the truth is that sometimes you find it.''

''The Order'' is a 2003 film written and directed by Brian Helgeland, and starring Creator/HeathLedger, Creator/ShannynSossamon, and Creator/MarkAddy.

Alex Bernier is a priest. And not just any priest. He's a trained exorcist, raised in the Catholic Church by another priest and his mentor after his parents died. He is also hopelessly in love with Mara, a woman once tried to kill him. Bound by the oaths of his order, he dares not pursue her.

But she pursues him. All the way to Rome, where Alex is summoned after his mentor, Dominic, is found dead. Worse, though, Dominic was declared a heretic just before his death, and has been ex-communicated. Alex refuses to let this happen, and is joined in Rome by another friend and fellow disciple of Dominic's, Father Thomas.

In Rome, Thomas and Alex encounter several demons Dominic apparently summoned before his death. It's apparent Dominic was attempting to atone for something, but they are at a loss for details until they are led to a mysterious man called William Eden.

-->'''Alex:''' She tried to kill me at an exor''cism''.

But she pursues him. All the way to Rome, where Alex is summoned after his mentor, Dominic, is found dead. Worse, though, Dominic was declared a heretic just before his death, and is to be ex-communicated. Alex refuses to let this happen, and is joined in Rome by another friend and fellow disciple of Dominic's, Father Thomas.

* [[{{UsefulNotes/VaticanCity}} Vatican City]] - the setting for much of the movie

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theorderimage.jpg
[[caption-width:485: Because the giant pointy stake is surely a weapon for ''good.'']]

->The terrible thing about the truth is that sometimes you find it.

The movie stars Creator/HeathLedger, Creator/ShannynSossamon, and Creator/MarkAddy...all of whom were in ''AKnightsTale'' together, which was also directed by Brian Helgeland. The film bombed at the box office, with many critics saying it had several good ideas, but poor execution.

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The movie stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, and Mark Addy...all of whom were in ''AKnightsTale'' together, which was also directed by Brian Helgeland. The film bombed at the box office, with many critics saying it had several good ideas, but poor execution.

* HoYay - Alex/Eden, not helped by the fact that both actors are [[MrFanservice so]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim pretty]].

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment - Exactly what is going on with the guys in the sewers who can tell the future by hanging guys?

For about a day, Alex experiences perfect, blissful happiness. But alas, it's not to be. [[spoiler: After a session of love-making, Alex leaves Mara alone. While painting sunflowers, she's interrupted by Eden, who murders her while attempting to make it look like she took her own life. Alex arrives home and sees her. He performs the Sin Eater ritual that Eden showed him, and absolves her sin. But finding no mortal taint on her, he realizes what Eden must have done and seeks him out.]]

[[spoiler: Alex and Thomas have in their possession in a special insturment and a set of instructions that seemingly describe how to kill an immortal like Eden. Blinded by his anger, Alex performs the ritual before Thomas can stop him. For Thomas has translated the instructions completely now, and they don't describe how to kill a Sin Eater. Yes, Eden is destroyed, but in his place Alex becomes what he sought to kill.]]

* NeverTrustATralier - The trailer makes it sound like the movie is entirely about corruption within the church, with no mention made of the Sin Eater.

The movie stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, and Mark Addy...all of whom were in ''AKnightsTale'' together, which was also directed by Brian Helgeland. The film bombed at the box office, with many critics saying it had several good ideas, but poor execution. YourMileageMayVary.

* HoYay - Alex/Eden, not helped by the fact that both actors are [[EstrogenBrigadeBait so]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim pretty]].

-->'''Alex:''' I performed the ceremony. I found [[spoiler: Mara]] dying. I did it to set [[spoiler: her]] free.

* TheCallHasBadReception - Alex is a nice guy and a trained exorcist who believes he's being tasked to destroy the Sin Eater. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, the manual he's using is actually on how to ''become'' a Sin Eater.]]
* TheChessmaster - Eden, full stop. [[spoiler: He manipulates Dominic into raising Alex, going so far as to plan Alex's parents' deaths. He then manipulates Alex into doing everything he wants of him.]]

* DeathSeeker - [[spoiler: Eden]]
* EmbarrassingTattoo - Thomas has one on his ankle. [[spoiler: Which allows Alex to identify him at a crucial moment.]]

* HeroicBSOD - Alex has one [[spoiler: after Mara dies]]

-> [[spoiler: And now it is I. I have been blessed and cursed... for now I possess the keys to the kingdom of heaven. I will forgive those who deserve freedom. I will damn those who have damned themselves. I will learn to live after love has died. I am the sin eater.]]

* NeverSuicide - [[spoiler: Mara, who's death was made to look like suicide by Eden so Alex would perform the ritual to absolve her sins]]

* ThanatosGambit - [[spoiler: Eden's plan to get Alex to become a Sin Eater.]]

* TomatoInTheMirror - [[spoiler: Alex, in the end]]

* XanatosGambit - [[spoiler: Eden's plan to get Alex to become a Sin Eater.]]

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