As far as one can tell, Murphy (Ethan Hawke), a father, WWI veteran, and avid car mechanic, has never encountered an insurmountable challenge. Living in Eugene, Oregon, in 1933, four years into the Great Depression, Murphy and his young daughter, Penny (the adorable Avy Berry), are evicted from their home. To no fault of his own, the search for a new place is the inciting incident in “The Weight,” the feature debut from director Padraic McKinley. The highly watchable, if mostly by-the-numbers survivalist western moves into high gear after a brawl lands Murphy in a labor camp and Penny in a state-run home for children.
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In charge of Murphy’s destiny is Clancy (the superbly cast Russell Crowe), a baseball-obsessed, Dr. Pepper-drinking warden. Clancy takes a liking to this father, with great manual skills and a clever mind, and offers Murphy the chance to reach Penny sooner. If he, and a team of his choosing, can transport a large number of gold bars outside of the mine before the government confiscates them or others steal them, he’ll be a free man. Considering he’s currently Oscar-nominated for his role in “Blue Moon” as composer Lorenz Hart, this new turn serves as further confirmation that Hawke is a consummate on-screen chameleon. At every step of the journey, which becomes increasingly predictable as the runtime approaches the ending, Hawke’s righteous portrayal exudes a grounding brawniness, matched by the energetic way cinematographer Matteo Cocco captures the vibrant natural backdrops that soothe and threaten the expedition.
The trio of credited screenwriters behind “The Weight” (Matthew Booi, Matthew Chapman, and Shelby Gaines) doesn’t much care for pursuing originality. Instead, the derivative screenplay (think “Deliverance” or “Sorcerer”) consistently hits overly familiar beats. If one thinks too long about one of the most thrilling sequences, where Murphy must cross the gold bars one by one over a cliff using a precarious bridge, the realization might come that we only see him do this with the final batch. That he didn’t drop a single one in the entire process can only be attributed to a superhuman. And that’s exactly how “The Weight” treats Murphy, like a faultless, man’s man, who is tough but fair, and always right. The only one who ever challenges him is Anna (Julia Jones), a Native American woman (and the only woman along), who proves more self-sufficient and resilient than her male counterparts.
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What’s most frustrating about “The Weight” is that it aims to straddle both thematic relevance and hearty, but uncomplicated entertainment, rather than committing to either of them wholeheartedly. The film is too disingenuously engineered to include an idealized group of people that checks the boxes of ideology, race, and gender without going beyond the surface on any of them. Each of the characters that comprise Murphy’s team is an archetype more than an individual. They each represent a specific identity, and the fiction demands one accept that this near-perfect representation of American demographics at the time came together naturally in this setting. Even if one agrees to go all in on suspension of disbelief, it’s difficult to ignore when the movie is set in a real historical period, and its plot hinges on key elements related to this time period and geographical backdrop.
There’s Singh (Avi Nash), an Indian man considered Caucasian by the U.S. government (hence why he ended up in the camp with these men); Olson (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen), a kind-hearted guy of Scandinavian descent; the insufferable Rankin (Austin Amelio), a mustachioed racist who speaks before he thinks, and the aforementioned Anna. Throughout the treacherous mission, each of these companions will reveal enough backstory to become slightly more fully fleshed out, but only Murphy has an emotionally charged motivation for overcoming the numerous obstacles: Penny. If nothing else, “The Weight” is a showcase for Hawke to flaunt his range and deliver a physical performance.
Under the supervision of two henchmen protecting the interests of the wealthy men to whom the gold belongs, the group survives an ambush, among other incidents that affect mostly Murphy, such as a near-drowning and a grotesquely swollen finger. Eventually, the villains reveal themselves to be killers, and Murphy displays strong shooting skills and driving prowess to win (“The Weight” is bookended by scenes in which Murphy races down a road). Though “The Weight” moves fast and can’t be accused of being dull, the taste it leaves behind is that of an easily digestible work relying on overused tropes and a winning, easy-to-get-behind protagonist to avoid the risk of attempting innovation.
It’s a “dad movie” if there ever was one, with enough set-pieces to feel exciting, a semblance of dramatic complexity (so long as you don’t dig too deep), and acting ranging from proficient to excellent in an impressively photographed package. As forgettable as it is serviceable. [C]
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