Is there any current actor who has gotten better with age than Ethan Hawke? Not to knock anything he did earlier, but his versatility is off the charts, as displayed by his varied performances in Black Phone 2 and Blue Moon. He can do pretty much anything and lend an undeniable credibility, as Hawke does in the muscular, Friedkin-esque crime drama The Weight, playing a jack-of-all-trades tasked with a dangerous gold smuggling mission.
Director Padraic McKinley is in 1970s thriller territory, with Friedkin’s Sorcerer a clear influence. Similarly, Hawke gives off serious Paul Newman vibes as Murphy, a guy who can do pretty much anything he puts his mind to. But this is 1933, four years into the Great Depression, and Murphy is unable to care for his daughter (Ava Berry), or keep a roof over her head. One thing we do know is that he can drive a car like a getaway driver, and fix just about anything put in front of him. But when they are evicted from their home, and Murphy accidentally slugs a bunch of nosy cops, he ends up in a prison labor camp while his daughter becomes a ward of the state, with precious time before she is adopted. Russell Crowe plays Warden Clancy, the tough-minded but seemingly honest boss who sees Murphy’s unique set of skills and ingenuity. So he recruits Murphy, along with a trio of fellow inmates, to transport gold meant for the federal government to a different secret location before desperate men can steal it.
Murphy’s crew is accompanied by two bruisers from the mine, armed to the teeth to keep everyone in line. This ragtag bunch, which includes a dark-skinned socialist and a loudmouth bigot, is as volatile as dynamite and has little chance of crossing the rugged terrain safely. Either the wilderness will kill them or somebody looking to get rich will. Naturally, the men themselves are a threat, with the greatest source of tension whether one of them will turn on the others. There’s even some question about the kind of man Murphy is. He’s clearly got a criminal past, and while he seems to have a good heart, there’s a violent streak. The team is joined by another shady character, Anna (Julia Jones), adding a dangerous sexual tension into the mix.
The Weight is the kind of movie my Dad would’ve loved, and taught me to love growing up. It’s unpretentious and lean, full of rough and tumble dudes doing dangerous shit. This isn’t the kind of movie that plays very often at Sundance anymore, maybe not since Jim Mickle’s Cold in July way back in 2014.
If there’s a complaint, it’s that the low budget severely impacted the amount of dangerous setpieces. The film has pretty high stakes; Murphy is risking everything to get his daughter back, but the level of threat is pretty minimal except for a nausea-inducing trek over a dilapidated bridge. Mostly, the danger comes from within, and while the tension is high, it could’ve been dialed up a notch or two. Still, The Weight is exciting stuff, with Hawke strong in a physically demanding role that he makes look easy.
