‘The Weight’: Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe Give This Great Depression Thriller Convincing Grit

Alci Rengifo

A thriller like “The Weight” thrives on pure classic storytelling. Director Padraic McKinley and writers Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines borrow from plenty of well-known sources, yet it never feels like a lazy retread. There are some basic story elements that never fail when used properly, such as greed, crime and grueling separation from a loved one. Casting is just as important and McKinley has assembled a collection of faces that succeed in transporting us back in time, chief among them Ethan Hawke. Over the decades, Hawke has dabbled here and there with high budget affairs, but it is in the realm of indie filmmaking that he truly excels. 

The setting is Oregon in 1933. The Great Depression has been going on for a few years. Samuel Murphy (Hawke) is one of those guys who gets by however he can, cheerfully telling his young daughter, Penny (Avy Berry), that he’s a proud rebel evading the law. What he can’t evade is the cruel realities of the times. The single father and his daughter are soon evicted from their apartment. While looking for a new home, Samuel gets into a brawl with a couple of tough guys on the street who turn out to be cops. Samuel is sentenced to a work camp while Penny is taken to a home for girls. After a certain amount of time she will become a ward of the state, that is if Samuel can’t get released and go pick her up. The camp’s warden, Clancy (Russell Crowe), notices the convict is a hard worker and sympathizes with his plight. Clancy offers to sign Samuel’s release on time if he can do a job transporting some important materials. He is also tasked with assembling a group of trusted men. These turn out to be Singh (Avi Nash), Olson (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen) and Rankin (Austin Amelio). The four men soon learn what their package is: Gold from a mine whose owners seek to evade President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s executive order banning gold hoarding.

“The Weight” continues as a classic thriller following in the footsteps of films like “The Wages of Fear,” “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and “Sorcerer,” where flawed men must carry out an assigned journey with the slim hope of redemption or riches. By the end of the movie we feel as if we know everyone in the group, empathizing with the criminals more than the corrupt lawmen. It is an effectively simple structure. The men have to trek across the wilderness to a pre-designated spot, watched over by Clancy’s lackeys, Amis (Sam Hazeldine) and Letender (George Burgess). A Native American woman worker from the camp, Anna (Julia Jones), attaches herself to the group. Anything is better than living in the hell hole she’s leaving behind. As they face the elements and tricky crossings, we get to know enough about the group. Rankin’s the hot-headed moron and Singh is a radical socialist arrested for his militant activities. Samuel, unsurprisingly, is the most level-headed of the group driven by the sole aim of reclaiming his daughter.

Did this sort of event ever take place during the 1930s? It very well could have. McKinley and cinematographer Matteo Cocco stage this mini odyssey in a forest terrain that is both gorgeous and ominous. Lens or filter choices give the texture of the images a vintage ambiance. There is the feeling of a Western in how the characters speak in rugged lingo, obsessing over the power of gold. Yet, the characters do have good, strong backstories. Anna shares about being in the government’s infamous boarding schools for Native Americans, where white teachers tried to destroy her sense of identity. Eerie-looking strangers appear out of the woods, most likely belonging to bands of thieves who know lots of gold will be moving through these parts due to FDR’s order. “The Weight” also becomes that kind of thriller full of survivalist tips, including what to do if caught by a surging river, enduring stab wounds, buckshot or broken fingers from punching someone.

“The Weight” never loses its sense of tension as the gold-carrying party edge closer to their destination. For Ethan Hawke this is another good role in a production where the entire budget couldn’t cover catering for “The Odyssey.” It may not be as bold as his performance in last year’s “Blue Moon,” where Hawke transformed into the great American songwriter Lorenz Hart, but in its own way, this is a testament to Hawke’s mastery of subtly. He has to make us believe Samuel is a good man with the potential of unleashing an inner volcano if necessary. Samuel becomes a character living outside of the law but not because he’s “bad.” Russell Crowe meanwhile seems to just dabble in playing a rugged type holding all the power. When the party has to cross a rickety old bridge and some of the gold bars threaten to fall over into the canyon below, we believe it. “The Weight” is effective because not only does it have excellent casting, it strives to tell an actual story.

“The Weight” releases Sept. 18 in theaters nationwide.