Alexandria, VA – Writing a monthly print film column in the post-Covid age of streaming has proved to be challenging. Print columns are on deadline in the middle of the preceding month. Selecting a thumbs-up film to spotlight that’s available then with the promise of still being in area theaters the next month, or immediately moving to streaming, is a daunting undertaking.
Such a film routinely has to be a mega-million-dollar blockbuster or universally critically acclaimed. Upon occasion, however, a movie reinvents the film reel. Finally! The Weight is a story-driven action drama that reminds us why we fell in love with filmmaking in the first place.
Set in 1933 Depression-ravaged Oregon, one man’s desperation to get his daughter back compels him to assume an impossible task. No, he’s not John Wick trying to get out from under the High Table. Unfairly incarcerated, working at a gold mine as a prison laborer, Sam Murphy agrees to move gold from the mine through a forest in exchange for early release to regain custody of his daughter before she’s put up for adoption.
Played by Ethan Hawke, Murphy is driven, indomitable, and unstoppable in pursuit of his freedom. Russell Crowe plays the crusty, curmudgeonly mine boss. Julia Jones as Anna is the only female in the cast save the irresistibly adorable daughter. As young Penny, Avy Berry reminds us of Tatum O’Neal’s Oscar-winning performance in Paper Moon and the old show biz adage “never work with children or animals!”
Julia Jones’s performance may well be the actual scene stealer. During a livestream Q&A, Director Padraic McKinley noted that Julia Jones was the only actor considered for the role of the savvy, stoic Native American warrior woman. Best known for her role as Leah Clearwater in the Twilight saga franchise, she’s radiant among a mainly unknown cast of manly ne’er-do-well down-and-outs reminiscent of old-time masculinity mores.
The setting and action documented by Italian cinematographer Matteo Cocco is equally upstaging. Cocco’s handheld method approach as Director of Photography puts him alongside the actors, immersive with the action: in the river, underwater, hanging over gorges, eschewing the safety of a crane or drone shots. It’s a revelatory ride – refreshing given that the whole action film genre has been consumed by special effects.
Hawke, whose wife Ryan Hawke is one of the producers, wanted to craft a nostalgic, old-fashioned film reminiscent of the story-driven action dramas he grew up on in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Both McKinley and Hawke mutually envisioned a collective imagination style for the film, evocative of director Peter Weir, where the setting becomes a living character. Think Witness, Gallopoli, or The Year of Living Dangerously. Even the trees in the forest, shot in Bavaria, evolve as characters.
The Weight premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, then earned critical praise with a 93% fresh approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. It’s the feature directorial debut for McKinley, most known for his work directing and producing for television. He is also a prolific film editor, credited with almost 20 feature films and over 200 TV episodes.
There’s a power to stillness, like in the forest. The Weight demonstrates that less IS more.
Ethan Hawke was reminded of a legendary quote by Clint Eastwood: “My old acting coach used to say, ‘Don’t just do something, stand there. Gary Cooper wasn’t afraid to do nothing.’” Neither was Hawke, Crowe, or Jones.
Persuasive storytelling, provocative imagery, a compelling narrative complemented by an eloquent score. Quoting Hawke, “When those things are real and full of life and story, then the acting is easy. It’s like being in a collective dream.” There may not be an encore for Cooper or Eastwood but there’s hope The Weight convinces Hollywood that it’s enough superheroes and horror already. Perchance… to dream!
