Director Padraic McKinley
Starring Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones
Rated MA
Score 5/6

Desperate to save what is left of his family, during the height of the Great Depression, a battle-scarred veteran is hired to help smuggle a fortune in gold across 100 miles of impenetrable wilderness.

Just a quick history lesson of the USA before I get too far into things. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102 on April 5, 1933, forcing U.S. citizens to turn in most of their gold coins, bullion, and certificates to the Federal Reserve by May 1, 1933, at a rate of $20.67 per troy ounce. Director Padraic McKinley in his directorial debut, and I almost forgot this was being released this weekend.
People who have been reading my reviews for a while would know of my fondness for Westerns. If you look at sites like IMDb, they describe The Weight as a ‘Period Drama’. Technically, I suppose that’s the case because The Weight isn’t a ‘Cowboy Western ’, so if you’re the type to split hairs about terminology, we could call The Weight ‘Westernish’. Yeah, after typing that, the genre term ‘Westernish’ will never actually be a thing.

Now, even though principal photography took place, there were some stunning shots of the ‘Oregan’ wilderness. Now, yes, that’s a good reason to see it at your friendly neighbourhood cinema. But don’t feel bad if you miss it at the cinema; don’t feel too bad if you catch it on streaming; watch it on a TV with decent speakers and NEVER pay the new release rental price on streaming. Streaming rental prices should be linked to video store rental prices of less than $10. Here ends my ‘when I was a boy!’ rant. The Weight is a little different than your stereotypical western; it doesn’t have a massive body count. It’s about the nature of man and the allure of gold.
Knowing that Ethan Hawke is in a movie is usually enough of a reason for me to watch a movie. I’ve seen enough of Russell Crowe’s varied performances to know that even though he makes for a great hero, he’s capable of bringing a solid bastard to the screen. I loved Avy Berry as Penny Murphy. I hope to see this young actress cast in more movies in the future.