New Order Review: A Masterfully Chaotic Descent Into Unrest

Release date: May 21, 2021
Running time: 88 minutes
Starring: Naian González Norvind, Fernando Cuautle, Diego Boneta 
Written and Directed By: Michel Franco

While protests rage in the streets, Marianne’s high society family prepares for her wedding. At first, only splatters of green paint and the appearance of Rolando, a former employee seeking emergency medical funds, intrude on the festivities.  But soon the party is unable to keep the reckoning at bay, and what follows is a swift disintegration of law and order defined first by class lines, then by disastrous government recapitulation.

New Order (original title "Nueva Orden or Nuevo Ord3n") is a powder keg of emotion and energy that does so much right.  The film has an artsy opening that briefly introduces you to the disparities that are addressed in this world.  And the movie then does a great job of showing the bubble that Marianne's family lives in.  It is a slow build up, but the movie gradually introduces you to some of the chaos that is brewing just outside their walls.  It is masterfully done, with little hints here and there.  Nothing overt at the start but small occurrences begin to hint at what is to come.  And this allows you to see the great disparity between this family and those outside, without really requiring sharp cuts or overt statements.  I love this kind of movie making, where the audience is led to the conclusion without being force fed it.  The opening is masterfully done and really sets the stage for this whole film.  

And the film doesn't just depict this with the overall situation.  The characters themselves represent some of this conflict.  Some characters are two faced and will turn at a moments notice.  Or others are outwardly positive but then become cold or uncaring when it matters the most.  The characters and the acting in this story are top notch and it really gives a great sense of the predicament they all find themselves in.  And this type of acting is needed when you have such an unsettling situation occurring around them.  Without the commitment of the performances, something could look off.  But as it stands, the acting contributes to the realistic violence that gives this film its edge. 

But the main draw of New Order will be the violent revolution that it depicts.  When the actual revolution occurs, the film devolves into cinematic chaos.  It is so well done that it is stunning and scary to see, with violence and confusion flowing as freely as the paint and blood on screen.  The movie does a great job with cinematic shots to sow this confusion, with a particularly effective scene involving some characters in a car that starts to get harassed by the protestors.  The shot appears to be a long one take that lets you get a sense of what they are experiencing.  And the effects during this revolution are also quite good.  You have destroyed streets and stores, and avenues littered with debris and bodies.  All of this contributes to the wholly unsettling film that is New Order.  And it should go without saying that the story of New Order is very good.  As I mentioned, the opening is masterful.  The rest of the film is quite good, but a very different type of film.  Some might not like the turn that happens when the chaos ensues, or the ending to it all, but I thought it was quite compelling.  And despite some initial hesitance with the story (more info here), upon further reflection, I did appreciate it. 

New Order is a chaotic cinematic experience, with a masterfully shot descent into unrest fueled by fantastic acting and universal societal and economic disparities.  

Watch it.

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New Order is available in theaters on May 21, 2021.  For tickets, click here.

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