The new movie, “The Weight,” is about a financially desperate single father, Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke), and his six-year-old daughter during the Great Depression. While looking for another run-down apartment after being evicted, Samuel is arrested by the police after they assault him for no reason in an alley. He then finds himself on a chain gang building a road, once again desperate to do his time and get back to his daughter after the huge injustice of being imprisoned after being attacked by the police for no reason.
I was surprised to see Russel Crowe (J.J. Clancy) in a small part as the warden of the chain gang, who had some good acting scenes in this relatively low-budget movie. Ethan Hawke deserves credit for taking this role, which was shot almost entirely in the dense woods of Oregon, with several intense fight scenes and dangerous scenes on a river. One day, the warden of the chain gang gives Murphy an assignment to transport gold bars with four other men he trusts for fifty miles through the difficult terrain of the Oregon wilderness. A promise was made by the warden promised that if he successfully transported all the gold, then he would be released from prison immediately. This sets the stage for some well-shot action scenes and the addition of an Indian woman, Anna (Julia Jones), who holds her own during the long, difficult trek.
I thought this story was well told and does hold your attention throughout, with no boring parts. The Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93% is too high; a more accurate audience rating is 78%, with my rating of 82% and a recommendation.
A Screenwriters Perspective: Current and Past Movies. 