loading...
The Weight Of The Water
2000
Two stories unravel simultaneously in this dark and suspenseful film. The first story, set in the present day, concerns a photographer, Jean (Catherine McCormack). She is working on an article for a magazine about a pair of bloody murders that happened 200 years before on the Isle of Shoals, just off the coast of New Hampshire. .. Read more
| Starring | Catherine McCormack, Sarah Polley, Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley |
|---|---|
| Director | Kathryn Bigelow |
| Genres | Drama |
loading...
The Weight Of The Water
Two stories unravel simultaneously in this dark and suspenseful film. The first story, set in the present day, concerns a photographer, Jean (Catherine McCormack). She is working on an article for a magazine about a pair of bloody murders that happened 200 years before on the Isle of Shoals, just off the coast of New Hampshire. To get the pictures she needs she must visit the location of the murders, and so her husband, Thomas (Sean Penn), arranges a yachting trip with his brother, Rich (Josh Lucas), and Rich's girlfriend, Adaline (Elizabeth Hurley). The foursome pal around, enjoying the sea and the sun, while Adaline shamelessly seduces Thomas. Meanwhile, Jean is reliving the Isle of Shoals murders in her head, which is where the second story comes in. Maren (Sarah Polley) is a Norwegian woman who has recently immigrated to America with her husband. When her sister (Katrin Cartlidge) and sister-in-law (Vinessa Shaw) are brutally bludgeoned to death with an axe, she is the sole survivor, and thus the only one who knows the truth about what happened. THE WEIGHT OF WATER draws a parallel between these two tense episodes, as the surf swirls menacingly, foretelling imminent disaster.
| Starring | Catherine McCormack, Sarah Polley, Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley, Ciarán Hinds, Katrin Cartlidge, Ulrich Thomsen, Anders W. Berthelsen, Joshua Lucas, Vinessa Shaw |
|---|---|
| Director | Kathryn Bigelow |
| Studio | Optimum |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 49 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Top Thrillers |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 16 Jun 2003 Production year: 2000 |
| Format | DVD |
-
Critics' reviews (5)
View all -
As Hollywood's only female action director, Kathryn Bigelow is more fêted for such high-octane material as Point Break, Blue Steel and K-19: the Widowmaker. Which is perhaps the reason why this more downbeat, more character-driven drama bypassed British cinemas and went straight to video here. It's actually rather better than it sounds, despite its mild delusions of grandeur and confused and confusing ending. The split-level plotline involves a grisly murder 100 years earlier of two young girls that has a resonance and ramifications for two couples on a present-day yacht trip. Sean Penn, Catherine McCormack and Sarah Polley head a quality cast. Liz Hurley also stars, wisely spending most of the film in her bikini.
-
"...The cast is in good form, and the 19th-century half gets more interesting as it goes..."
-
Most helpful member's review
View all -
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful
< < Compelling movie > >
Found the storyline very compelling to watch, especially with the history of the island which the research was taking over Jeans life. The more she found out about the murders on the island the more she was thinking about the past. Overall a good movie
-
Most recent members' review
View all -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Grand hopes, dashed by its own weight!
Oh dear...where to begin! Such promise: a clever story, strong cast (on paper)and evocative settings. But it just does not work. Its slow, clunky, over-scored, and disappointingly shallow. The biggest criminals are the script (it fails to give any single character depth or empathy) and some horrid mis-casting (Sean Penn simply does not cut it, and Liz Hurley looks good but does not have the ability to dig her character out from the awful script).
The 'back story' set in the 19th century starts with promise, but even this falls foul of the bad script - the drama does not build, the pacing is too slow, the characters struggle to give depth. The 'modern' story is riddled with pot-holes and moody looks. Hard work!
I find so little redeeming qualities here, and I struggled to see it through to the end. Very disappointing. -
More like this
View allShowing 1 to 4 of 20
Related user collection
Paris Hilton's Chain-Gang Collection (unofficial) (10)
72.8% from 28 members
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
-
-
-
The Weight Of The Water
Two stories unravel simultaneously in this dark and suspenseful film. The first story, set in the present day, concerns a photographer, Jean (Catherine McCormack). She is working on an article for a magazine about a pair of bloody murders that happened 200 years before on the Isle of Shoals, just ...
-