The Weight film review: Gold rush
Old-fashioned survival thriller in which Ethan Hawke battles the Oregon wilderness, desperate men and a dangerous load of gold
‘People get funny around gold,’ muses mine boss Taggert (Alec Newman). ‘They’ll lie, cheat. They’ll kill you for it.’ And so it goes in period thriller The Weight, a high-concept tale from debut director Padraic McKinley, that has Ethan Hawke struggling with a mental and physical load as he traverses the Oregon wilderness in 1933. Hawke plays single dad and former soldier Samuel Murphy who, after being evicted from his home, is ripped from the arms of his adorable daughter Penny (Avy Berry) following an altercation with police officers and then dumped into a labour camp. Once there, his level head and ability to fix things attracts the attention of Russell Crowe’s Warden Clancy, who offers him the chance to be released in time to prevent his daughter from being put up for adoption.
With the area’s mines about to be closed down, Samuel is tasked with leading a group of men on a gold-smuggling mission through local woodland, apparently to save it from being stolen. The men include fellow prisoners Rankin (Austin Amelio) and Singh (Avi Nash), as well as mine employees Amis (Sam Hazeldine) and looming brute Letender (former rugby league player George Burgess), while they are later joined by Indigenous runaway Anna (Julia Jones).
The Weight is an enjoyably old-fashioned survival thriller that’s stripped back and laser-focused, with glorious cinematography from Matteo Cocco and typically terrific work from Hawke. Although the contrivances are many and some of the political commentary is clunky, the particulars of its story are gripping: all the gold must survive, these men are not to be trusted and people will come after them. Samuel’s desire to be with his daughter and the context of the Great Depression piles on the jeopardy, with desperate men willing to do anything. Nail-biting stuff.
The Weight is in cinemas from Friday 2 October.