Movie Review: ‘The Weight’

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Review by James Lindorf

Padraic McKinley has spent more than two decades working in film and television, but “The Weight” marks his feature directorial debut. With this first film, he proves he’s someone worth watching, even as he occasionally tries to do too much with the camera in search of his visual language. Vertical brings “The Weight” to theaters on September 18th, following premieres at Sundance in January and the Berlin International Film Festival in February.

Oregon, 1933. Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) is torn from his young daughter Penny and sent to a brutal work camp. Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe) offers him a proposition: smuggle gold through the unforgiving wilderness with a dangerous crew of fellow prisoners and mine guards to earn his freedom. The mission also brings Murphy into contact with Anna (Julia Jones), an Indigenous woman living near the mine who seizes the opportunity to escape. To reach the handoff spot, they will have to survive the wildness, miners looking for a quick payday, and each other.

Murphy was given a crew of three prisoners, including Olson (Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen), the sympathetic one who seems to have no business being there. Then there is Rankin (Austin Amelio), the cultural antagonist whose general ignorance may get someone killed. Finally there is Singh (Avi Nash), the politically outspoken one who is also the main target of Rankin’s hostility. The guard team includes Letender (George Burgess), the physically imposing, overly aggressive one, and Amis (Sam Hazeldine), the smaller, quieter, and considerably more nefarious of the two. The crew is functional rather than fully realized, archetypes in period costume doing the work the story requires of them. There isn’t a bad performance in the group, but if one of them got lost in the woods, you wouldn’t notice.

What elevates the film above its predictable bones is the quality of its lead performance and the two core supporting roles. Hawke is exceptional as Murphy, building a complete man from fragments. A widower, a veteran with visible scars, a mechanic who can fix any engine, and someone who can engineer a solution for moving a boulder in seconds when dozens have failed. A long list of attributes a character could be built around that never get fully focused on the page. Instead, Hawke delivers all of this through body language and facial expression as much as dialogue. Embodying the confidence of a man who is living a hard life and has survived worse, who has been softened by the unconditional love he and his daughter share.

Crowe brought a quiet menace to Clancy. His calm, matter-of-fact voice delivering the impossible proposition and its unspoken threat is more enticing and terrifying than yelling, and Crowe understands this completely. He has little to do beyond setting the story in motion, but he makes every scene count. Jones as Anna is the film’s most fully realized supporting character. She is a survivor of a forced assimilation institution that tried to strip her of everything she was, but she is not easily broken. Her indigenous knowledge of local plants and terrain makes her the second most capable person in the group. A begrudging chemistry develops between her and Murphy, born of mutual respect rather than convenience, adding another layer to their story.

McKinley’s camera work is the film’s most divisive quality. Moments of genuine visual ambition serve the story beautifully. And moments when the cinematography seems to forget it should complement what is happening in the frame rather than compete with it. A poor man willing to do anything to reunite with his child could exist in any era. Still, the Depression era trappings give the film a texture that earns its place. While not essential, the 1933 Oregon setting is presented with care through detailed costuming, set design, and period vehicles.

“The Weight” is for fans of Hawke and Crowe, or anyone looking for a well-performed and uncomplicated way to spend 113 minutes. There is a lot of good work between the credits, but this is unlikely to be a film most people remember and rewatch for years. More likely, it will surface as a pleasant memory the next time you are scrolling through a streaming service or someone’s IMDb page. “The Weight” earned a 3.5 out of 5 on the strength of its actors and the attention to detail, while losing points for predictability and underwritten supporting characters.

Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Western, Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): September 18th, 2026
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director: Padraic McKinley
Producer: Simon Fields, Nathan Fields, Ryan Hawke, Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo
Screenwriter: Matthew Chapman, Shelby Gaines
Distributor: Vertical
Production Co: Fields Entertainment, Under The Influence, augenschein Filmproduktion