Written by Aria Clarke
The Weight is a historical drama set in Oregon during The Great Depression that follows Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke), a down on his luck mechanic and single father whose unintentional fight with the police has cost him his young daughter, Penny (Avy Berry). He is sent to a prison work camp while she is sent to a children’s home. Murphy works hard and keeps his head down, as he is desperate to get out before Penny becomes a ward of the state and can no longer be released into his care. However, his prison sentence is one year, and she only has a month.
Knowing this, and having seen Murphy’s skills firsthand, the prison’s warden, Clancy (Russell Crowe), selects him and a crew of fellow inmates for a job: smuggle stolen gold across the Oregon forest. The entire crew will be released upon completion of this week-long endeavor. Murphy is eager to accept, as this gives him the opportunity to reunite with his daughter.
In the year 2026, sometimes it can feel like period dramas are just an excuse to make movies with as little diversity as possible. The Weight is no exception to that.
The film features one indigenous woman who joins the group of smugglers to escape the settlement where she was living for reasons unbeknownst to the audience. Anna (Julia Jones) does nothing but cook, take care of Murphy, and get herself into precarious situations that she needs rescuing from. Although the movie tries to portray her as largely skilled and self-sufficient, ultimately her character faces the damsel-in-distress plotline that many female characters receive in male-lead media. Jones delivers a good performance, but her character can only be as compelling as the script allows.
The other person of color, Singh (Avi Nash), doesn’t do much of anything at all. In fairness, most of this movie is simply walking in the woods with heavy backpacks, but his character isn’t exactly plot integral. While most of the other supporting characters get some kind of moment to be plot-relevant, Singh gets one section of dialogue that gives us his backstory, and then fades into the background as a generic “good guy.” Additionally, as the only Indian-American, the movie feels the need to explain his presence there, which detracts from the already insubstantial plot.
The movie does some things well. There are moments where the tension is palpable as the weight of the perilous situation settles over the audience. However, these moments never last long and are broken up by scene after scene of hiking. Despite the dialogue in the hiking scenes lacking any substance, the viewer can still be immersed by the beautiful natural scenery of the surrounding forest.
The movie’s saving grace is Hawke’s performance. In the face of a boring and underdeveloped supporting cast of characters, Hawke’s gritty, analytical characterization of Murphy carries the film all the way through to its predictable conclusion.
The Weight is a testosterone filled snooze-fest that accomplishes next to nothing in its two-hour run time. Its interesting concept just doesn’t pan out.
