Hawke lends added heft to ‘The Weight’
After his superb, Oscar-nominated performance in “Blue Moon,” the lingering question was what would Ethan Hawke do next. We now have the answer. And it’s proving well worth the wait for “The Weight.”
Set in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, it’s the story of a widowed dad willing to illicitly move heaven, earth and a couple hundred pounds of gold to be reunited with the daughter taken from him after his incarceration on trumped-up charges. As the aggrieved father, Hawke’s Samuel Murphy is a fascinating study in quiet strength. He has every reason to be outraged, but he keeps his head down, content to hone his observational and strategic skills until opportunity strikes.
And it arrives from the unlikeliest source: the remote prison camp’s warden, Clancy, played with mild menace by a well-cast Russell Crowe. After winning his favor, Clancy offers to parole Samuel in time to prevent his daughter, Penny (Avy Berry), from being put up for adoption. But first, Samuel and three other inmates of his choice must transport – over five days’ time – laden backpacks full of gold bricks across rugged Oregon terrain on foot.
Rendering the task even more dire, they can expect a rogue bandit or two lurking in the shadows, eager to relieve them of their burden and their lives. And even if they beat the odds and reach their destination, who’s to say Clancy will keep his word, assuming he keeps them alive?
If you’re having visions of “Wages of Fear” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” you’re right in tune with Padraic McKinley, a first-time director seeking – often successfully – to emulate the gripping adventure films helmed by the late, great John Huston. Accordingly, “The Weight” has a vintage feel. And that’s a good thing.
It’s a mood and tone that’s perfectly in sync with Hawke’s quiet presence. His Samuel is a ticking time bomb, fighting to maintain control, but remaining strong and steady, his eyes fixed only on the prize of being reunited with Penny. As always, Hawke uses his expressive eyes to communicate Samuel’s every thought, while silently signaling that he’s the smartest, most cunning guy in the room.
We learn early on that Samuel is a victim of circumstance. Yes, he’s dead broke at the time of his arrest, but that’s only because there’s not much use for a “guy who can fix anything” when no one can afford to pay him. The script by Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines makes the most of the opportunity to explore how the destitute and downtrodden are exploited by folks like Clancy, an authoritarian who mistakenly assumes Samuel to be as dim-witted and desperate as the other inmates on the road-building detail.
That includes his three handpicked accomplices: the racist Rankin (Austin Amelio), the stronger-than-he-looks socialist, Singh (Avi Nash), and the naive Swede, Olson (Lucas Lynggaard Tonnesen). The tension between the trio and their two armed “chaperones,” hot-headed Letender (George Burgess) and the only slightly less scary, Amis (Sam Haseldine), is unnerving. Eventually, and seemingly out of the blue, they are joined by Anna (Julia Jones), a beautiful, resilient Native woman whose presence serves no purpose beyond a potential love interest.
McKinley puts them through their rigorous paces as the dirty half-dozen confront the elements and roving bandits on their episodic trek through the majestically forested mountains of western Oregon (actually Bavaria), DP Matteo Cocco deftly contrasts the danger with the serene surroundings. There are issues with tempo in places and a few scenes – including one on a rickety bridge spanning a seemingly bottomless gorge – that drag on too long, but the climate of fear is almost always palpable.
The result is a movie geared more toward fans of “Train Dreams” than aficionados of more bombastic fare that values physical might over clashing personalities. I prefer the former, and in meeting those standards, “The Weight” tips the scales in its favor.
Movie review
The Weight
Rated: R for language and some violence/bloody images
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynngaard Tennessen and Avy Berry
Director: Padraic McKinley
Writers: Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines
Runtime: 115 minutes
Where: In theaters Sept. 18
Grade: B
