Overrated

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Blistering performances.

Heath Ledger was a pretty well established star by 2003, having appeared in movies like "A Knight's Tale" and "Monster's Ball". "The Order" isn't a crime against humanity - I reserve that moniker for the likes of "Everyone Says I Love You" and "Man on the Moon" - but its plot is too all over the place to make any sense. It was interesting learning about the different kinds of Catholic orders that exist, but the movie didn't have enough focus, so I wouldn't recommend it.It's too bad that Heath Ledger died so young. His career was on a good path, and I have no doubt that were he alive today he would be playing some fine roles. As for Brian Helgeland, it's a surprise that the screenwriter of "LA Confidential" would make this sort of movie.

The main problem with this film was its star -- Heath Ledger. Oh, don't get me wrong, before his death, Ledger had some solid performances under his belt, but this was not one of them. It isn't so much his acting here, which is satisfactory, but rather he is noticeably too young for the role. I suppose that's why they included the facial hair here, although he obviously wasn't much of a beard-grower, so the age thing just doesn't work at all. One of the most often said things about Ledger was that he showed great promise. For the most part, that promise was still to come, and certainly not achieved in this, his 9th credited film.The story is actually quite interesting. Is that there is another way to heaven than adherence to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church? Supposedly, a non-church Sin Eater can remove all taint of sin from a soul just before death, thus allowing ascension into heaven; but within the church, this belief is heretical. Ledger plays a disillusioned priest who is a member of a fictitious religious order which fights demons. His mentor has died in Rome, and while the church is attempting to paint it as a suicide, Ledger does not agree, particularly after he finds strange markings on the corpse. The symbols are that of a Sin Eater. The mentor had been excommunicated, but Ledger still buries him on sacred ground. Another priest of the same order, and a friend of Ledger's, arrives in Rome to help investigate the mentor's death. A female artist Ledger once exorcised, and who has escaped from a mental hospital, comes along for the ride, and at least in this iteration, she seems irrelevant or at least illogical. Peter Weller plays a sympathetic cardinal (or is he?), and gives Ledger a fancy dagger which must be plunged into the Sin Eater while reciting an Aramaic spell...which still must be found. And then, to be young and modern (after all, it's a Ledger film), they wander through a nightclub and an underground setting where the 'Black Pope' rules. Naturally, demons attack every once in a while, and to be honest, it gets kind of silly...though the special effects are quite good. Ledger meets the Sin Eater, who is a pretty interesting fellow who dates back to the time during with St. Peter's Cathedral was being built. As a result of their meeting, Ledger ends up having sex with the young woman...naturally, it's the hip Ledger's film. It turns out that the Sin Eater wants Ledger to take his place...and he won't take no for an answer. So, what to do? Kill the Sin Easter! Who wins? Ah, that is the question.In a sense, this film has a split personality...another reason it doesn't quite work. The movie was filmed in Italy, Paris, and New York, so the settings seem quite authentic and rather spectacular in many cases. Certain scenes -- such as when the Sin Eater is telling his background -- are quite spectacular. But then, since this is a Ledger film, there has to be a sex angle and pop movie-making, as well. So it kind of falls in between, and we are left a bit unsatisfied, as the ratings on IMDb show.Heath Ledger is "okay" here, but it sometimes seems as if he once attended the Mumbling School Of Acting. The better performance is by the Sin Eater -- Benno Fürmann, a German actor. Mark Addy does a nice job as the fellow priest.I wouldn't say not to watch this film, but it's barely meets the threshold of holding your serious attention.

A priest of the Carolinian order is called to investigate the suspicious death of his leader. An artist who was institutionalized for attacking the investigating priest and whom he has exorcised previously is released and meets up with him. Demons inhabit the bodies of children and the order priest banishes them. A rogue priest, or sin-eater, is giving absolution to those about to die who have been excommunicated from the catholic church. The dark is rising. This movie is bathed in catholic religious occultism; it is very dark and secretive and seems more like an occult conspiracy theory movie with the church acting in the place of corrupt big government and the small investigative unit, consisting of the order priests and the artist, searching for the truth. Feels very X-files - if Mulder had been a priest and had a snails metabolism. Lots of strange dark occult figures and unexplained spiritual phenomena that doesn't seem to overly surprise anyone. Lots of personal angst in all the characters. The film does not transition smoothly, there is very little chemistry between characters, the acting is flat and the director fails to make us care about his movie.

"The Sin Eater" is a extraordinary movie which will come to first time viewers as a hit-piece. Most certainly to people who have been raised with a religion, in particular the Catholic. The Sin Eater actually filled out a couple of important blanks for me. The central theme inside the movie is "There is no Salvation outside the Catholic Church of Rome". It means that people, who have been excommunicated, need to find a alternative method to find a eternal resting place for their soul. Enter the Sin Eater, who, with his special powers, delivers salvation at demand for the right price. The Sin Eater is like an extra "God" on earth and as such cannot die and lives an eternal life. There's one little problem though. Although people do get salvation, their sins are _not_ undone, but are actually saved up inside the Sin Eater's body and soul. After having done his job for over 500 years, the number and severity of sins have become to much, even for a Sin Eater. A replacement is due. Enter the last of the Carolinger Priests, who is carefully recruited throughout the movie, in a CIA secret service styled method. The Carolinger Priests inside the Sin Eater are presented as the Jedi of the Catholic priesthood, who do exorcisms and extermination of evil demons like candy cakes between lunch and supper. The old Sin Eater turns out have made a covert deal with a rotten black satanic Cardinal who wants to become the new pope. It is this rotten deal with the Cardinal which becomes one Sin to far for the Sin Eater as his Sin absorbing powers are decreasing rapidly. After the Sin Eater is replaced by the Carolinger Priest, who is not into black occult Satan worship, things turns very bad for the Cardinal as well. Although the above scenario reads like a nut-case novel to people with atheistic or pagan beliefs, the movie addresses the fight between the Christian religion and paganism in a straightforward fashion. E.g. the Satanic Cardinal retrieves all of his knowledge by hanging people and listening to their last words while dying. The Sin Eater contains some interesting scenes. For instance, when the Carolingian Chief Dominic is coming home for the last time, two orphan children are waiting for him at the door. Dominic suddenly knows his last hour on earth is very near. Such signs have been reported before to actually happen in real life.