The Weight of Water (2000)

A newspaper photographer researches an 1873 double homicide and finds her own life paralleling that of a witness who survived the tragic ordeal.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writers:

Anita Shreve (novel), Alice Arlen (screenplay)

Stars:

Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, Sarah Polley

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ciarán Hinds	...	Louis Wagner (as Ciaran Hinds)
Richard Donat	...	Mr. Plaisted
Sarah Polley	...	Maren Hontvedt
Ulrich Thomsen	...	John Hontvedt
Anders W. Berthelsen	...	Evan Christenson
Murdoch MacDonald	...	Bailiff (as Murdock McDonald)
Joseph Rutten	...	Judge
John Walf	...	Defense Attorney
Katrin Cartlidge	...	Karen Christenson
Vinessa Shaw	...	Anethe Christenson
Adam Curry	...	Emil Ingerbretson
Catherine McCormack	...	Jean Janes
Sean Penn	...	Thomas Janes
Josh Lucas	...	Rich Janes
Elizabeth Hurley	...	Adaline Gunne

Storyline

In 1873 on Smutty Nose Island, a bleak island off the coast of New England, Louis Wagner is tried and hanged for the murder of two women. At the trial, the survivor of the murders, Norwegian immigrant Maren Hontvedt, recounts the events that led up to the murder of her sister and sister-in-law. In so doing, she reveals how she was caught in a loveless marriage and her repressed passion for her brother. Meanwhile, in the present-day, newspaper photographer Jean travels to the island off the New Hampshire coast with her husband Thomas, an award-winning poet, his brother Rich, and Rich's girlfriend Adaline. She is researching the murders of the two immigrant women. In a twist of fate, she discovers archived papers that appear to give an account of the murders. According to the papers, Norwegian immigrant Maren Hontvedt, survived the attack, which was allegedly done by Louis Wagner, who had once tried to seduce her. The plot unfolds the narrative of the papers and Hontvedt's testimony ...

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian subtext | woman murders a woman | cleavage | sail boat | voyeur | 

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Taglines:

Hell hath no fury...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity, and brief language

Details

Country:

USA Canada France

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

El peso del agua

Filming Locations:

Fox Baja Studios, Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,888, 3 November 2002

Gross USA:

$109,130

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$321,279

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, Manifest Film Company, Palomar Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on an actual double-murder on the Isles of Shoals on 6 March 1873.

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Goofs

When the documents are blown over the ship, they are blown to one side, but in the next shot you can see a flag blowing to the opposite side.

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Quotes

Jean Janes: When a women kills, it's usually her spouse.

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Connections

Referenced in Sean Bradley Reviews: Detroit (2017)

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Soundtracks

Sulli lulli lite ban
Written by Inge Krokann
Performed by Traditional

User Reviews

half a good film

In its basic structure and format, `The Weight of Water' is very similar to the far more impressive film `Possession' from 2002. In both movies, we get two different stories running simultaneously: one, a mystery set in the past, and, the other, a personal drama located in the present, involving a group of characters reflecting on and trying to make sense of the events that took place a century or so earlier.

The story-within-a-story in `The Weight of Water' is a true-life account of a brutal double murder that took place on a remote island off the coast of New Hampshire in the 1870's. Two out of the three women who were on the island that fateful night fell victim to the murderer, with the third escaping and fingering a man - a former boarder - as the culprit. The man was convicted and hanged for the offense, yet, more than a century later, a shadow of doubt hangs over the verdict. One of the modern-day doubters is Jean Janes, a photographer who ventures to the island to do a shoot of the location, only to find herself strangely obsessed with uncovering the truth about the case. Accompanying her on her quest are her husband, Thomas, a celebrated poet; Rich, his handsome brother whose boat they use to get to the island; and Adaline, the latter's gorgeous girlfriend who also happens to be a devotee of Thomas' literary work and a bit of a `groupie,' as it turns out, in both tone and temperament, attaching herself rather obviously to the talented young bard, despite the fact that his observant wife is on the boat with them. As in `Possession,' the filmmakers in this film - screenwriters Alice Arlen and Christopher Kyle and director Kate Bigelow - shift constantly between the past and the present, allowing us to piece together the clues as to what really happened on that island over 130 years ago, and, at the same time, to examine the strained relationships among those contemporary figures looking for the answers.

The problem with `The Weight of Water' - as it is in many films with this dual-narrative structure - is that one story almost inevitably ends up dominating over the other. Certainly, both tales seem to want to make the same unified point: that love and passion are often such overwhelming forces in our lives that they can end up destroying us in the process. How often do luck, fate, personal demons or societal pressure force us to compromise those elemental passions raging within our hearts, leading us, ultimately, to all the wrong choices and wrong partners that we end up having to live with for the rest of our lives? This is certainly the case in the part of the story set in the past where loneliness, regret, even incest and lesbianism play a crucial part in what happens to the characters. We can understand what motivates these individuals to do what they do, since their hungers, needs and intentions are cleanly laid out and clearly defined.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the outer story set in the present. These characters lack the necessary delineation to make us truly understand where they are coming from or to make us care where they are going. Catherine McCormack does a superb job as Jean, capturing the fears, jealousies and anxieties of this insecure modern woman, but the screenplay doesn't let us into her mind enough to show us what is really going on beneath the surface. We know that she is unhappy in her marriage, but we never really get to know why. The situation is not helped one bit by Sean Pean who barely registers an emotion in the crucial role of Jean's husband. Apart from the fact that he seems to be brooding all the time, we never get the sense that Thomas could really be the world-class poet we are told he is. As Adaline, Josh's tawny-haired girlfriend, Hurley looks great in her bikini, of course, but the character is little more than the stereotypical temptress placed there by the writers to serve as a source of strain and tension on the marriage. The movie also builds to a mini- `Perfect Storm'-type climax that seems forced, phony, arbitrary and all too convenient and, worst of all, fails to make the connection between the two narratives clear and comprehensible. The final scenes seem strained at best, as the authors attempt to bring all the disparate elements together - but to no real avail. The fact is that the filmmakers never make their case as to why we should find any kind of meaningful parallels between the characters and events in the two stories. The characters in the past are obviously hemmed in by the repressive society in which they live so we give them a little leeway and offer them our sympathy; the characters in the present, with so many more options open to them, just come across as whiney and self-pitying and we find ourselves growing more and more impatient with them (all except Jean, that is) as the story rolls along.

`The Weight of Water' wants to be an important and meaningful film, but only one half of its story truly earns those adjectives.