TL;DR – A truly immersive film that sucks you into its story and makes you feel the titular weight.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Warning – Contains scenes with flashing lights.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The Weight Review Introduction

Today was cheap Tuesday at the cinemas, and for the first time in an age I had nothing on in the evening. Well, when the universe lines things up, one should make the most of it. Today that meant just rocking up and seeing whatever was about to start, and that is how I watched the fantastic film today.

So, to set the scene, Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) ends up in a hard labour camp after punching a man who menaced his daughter (Avy Berry) who turned out to be a cop. Samuel works hard because he needs to get back to his daughter before they adopt her out. But he can’t do that in time, which is where the Warden, Clancy (Russell Crowe), has a plan. He has a friend, Taggert (Alec Newman), that needs four men for a task, and if they pull it off, he will sign Samuel’s release papers. Samuel, Rankin (Austin Amelio), Singh (Avi Nash), and Olson (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen) make the trek deep into the Oregon wilderness. Taggert runs a gold mine, and it is about to be nationalised during the Great Depression. But the commodity they will be carrying is gold, and gold brings out the worst in people.

Tension

Goodness, does this film understand how best to use tension to keep you constantly on the edge of your seat without exhausting you. There is this moment where they are throwing gold bars across a ravine, and I don’t think I have been as stressed this year as I did while watching that sequence play out. At no point in the film are you entirely sure who will betray whom. The camera has this habit of shooting from a direction where you get the feeling like you are a less-than-friendly observer, scouting out the group for a raid. So much of the conversation in the film comes from looks, and the non-verbal cues, and can I say, Ethan Hawke eats up the screen as you feel every thought and emotion going through him.

Production

I did love every moment of the production on this film. The Weight is a masterclass in how to light scenes around a campfire. You never feel someone is standing off camera with a bounce board. They use the light to frame faces to shift the vibe of the scene as the flames stretch across their faces. It is another way they bring you into this film, especially when things start to deteriorate. Then you have the musical score that refuses to be timid; it is going to blare at you and demand you take notice. It helps shift the tone of the movie, bringing you into the emotional state of the characters. It also helps that they make the gold feel like it has the very weight the title purports.

Story

As far as narratives go, it is a very threadbare affair, but I didn’t mind here, because it was exactly enough for what the film needed. Basically, you have a couple of ticking clocks forcing people to march to one location, wearing the equivalent of a “please murder me for my gold” sign around their necks. What that allows is for the character moments to shine, as you begin to care about each of the members of this troop. Each performance is coming at it from a very different perspective, but thankfully, you always feel like it’s coming from a real place. They could have been caricatures, but instead you feel they are real people stuck in this odd place.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend The Weight? Yes, we do. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime of this film. It sucked me into its world, made me care about its characters, and feel fear whenever someone got trapped under logs in a flowing stream.

Have you watched The Weight? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked The Weight, we would recommend One Battle After Another to you because it also captivates you with its characters, bringing you into the story and world where you find yourself on the edge of your seat.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Weight
Directed by – Padraic McKinley
Story by – Matthew Booi, Leo Scherman, & Matthew Chapman
Screenplay by – Matthew Booi & Shelby Gaines
Music by – Shelby Gaines & Latham Gaines
Cinematography by – Matteo Cocco
Edited by – Padraic McKinley & Matthew Woolley
Production/Distribution Companies – Fields Entertainment, Under The Influence, Augenschein Filmproduktion, Vertical, & Rialto Distribution.
Starring – Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaard, Tønnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, & Sam Hazeldine
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R