THE WEIGHT : Tuesday 22nd September 2026

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE WEIGHT' this week at my local independent movie theatre, and this German and American Co-Produced historical drama film is Directed and Co-Edited by Padraic McKinley in his feature film making debut. The film had its World Premiere screening at this years Sundance Film Festival in late January and had its International Premiere out of competition at the Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February. It was released in the US last week too, having garnered generally favourable critical reviews, and so far grossing US$2.5M.

The film opens with an aerial shot of a deserted gravel back road in Eugene, Oregon in 1933 - four years into the Great Depression. Driving down that road at almost break neck speed in Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) with his young daughter Penny (Avy Berry) sat in the back seat whooping for joy while getting tossed around and urging her father to go faster. We then see the pair in their apartment later that night with Murphy attempting to darn a hole in a sock, and saying that he can fix motor cars, build an engine, and that he even made Penny, and that he can sure mend a hole in a sock, to which Penny retorts that she's not so sure. The next day or two and the pair climb the stairs to their apartment to find all their worldly possessions out on the landing and the lock changed - they have been evicted, and must find a new place to live. Later, down an alley way with Penny. while knocking on a prospective landlord’s door, three men approach, demand to know what they’re up to, and warn them against 'squatting'. The resultant confrontation quickly rises into an all out brawl. As it transpires one of the men Murphy punched was a plainclothes Policeman. The authorities place Penny in children's home and sentence her father to one year in the remote Deschutes County Convict Labor Camp, overseen by Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe) - an imposing man who seems to relish in breaking down his prisoners spirits through intimidating, punishing, and by assigning tasks he knows are almost impossible.

Clancy then puts Murphy in charge of one such task - to remove a huge boulder that sits in the way of a road, and that needs to be cleared today, because tomorrow is Sunday, and the Warden has a baseball game planned for the prisoners versus the guards and the result is one game all, and if the boulder is not removed today then the prisoners forfeit the game and Clancy will not be happy, at all. Murphy surprises Clancy by taking charge and getting the job done with ingenuity, by using two pump up jacks, and getting two other prisoners to hammer two holes in the rock on opposite sides, and having them then insert the ends of their wooden pick axe handles into the holes and pushing with all their might. Eventually, the boulder moves, only slightly at first, but with momentum it is eventually shifted and rolled away. Watching Murphy successfully accomplish the task, Clancy realises he’s a good leader with many useful skills, who is a man of his word and gets the job done without fuss. 

So, after getting Murphy to fix up his Ford Model 18 which had several mechanical problems and which he had purloined from some criminal bootlegger who was now serving time, Clancy offers him a chance at freedom and getting his daughter back. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had recently set in motion a proclamation whereby in an attempt to slow down or even halt the currency deflation that was extending the Depression, his administration had decided to take the US off the gold standard, and began sending federal marshals around the country to withdraw gold held in vaults by the Federal Reserve Bank. Murphy will lead a team of three other trustworthy inmates to steal the gold bars kept at Klamath Falls gold mining camp deep in the forest before the Feds get their hands on them, then bring them to Clancy, who will divide them between himself and his partners. The drop off point is fifty miles away through dense forest terrain, and Murphy and his team have six days to make the rendezvous. For successfully completing the mission, Clancy will give the participating inmates early release papers dated to the day of their return with the gold. Murphy can hardly refuse the offer, as Penny will become a ward of the State in five months, long before his sentence ends.

And so the gang of four set out, having been giving their strict orders by Taggert (Alec Newman), who in no uncertain terms sets out his very clear expectations for their upcoming mission. There is Singh (Avi Nash) an Indian American socialist, Olson (Lucas Lynggaard Tonnesen) a Scandinavian immigrant, Rankin (Austin Amelio) the bad apple of the group, and Anna (Julia Jones) an Indigenous runaway who was living at the mining camp, but decided to flee and hooks up with the gang after the fact and acts as their cook and medic. And then accompanying the group there are two of Clancy's armed foot soldiers who are loyal to the Warden, and are not afraid to throw their weight around - Letender (George Burgess) and Amis (Sam Hazeldine).

What follows is a series of action set pieces that put the group through their paces, that involve them traversing a rickety old rope bridge; a river crossing involving a log jam in which Murphy gets caught under; stealing a couple of boats belonging to a group of nefarious locals who seem determined to come between the group and their mission; and a brutal fist fight between Letender and Murphy. Needless to say it doesn't end well for two of the group. 

And so after six days battling the elements and each other, the remaining group make their rendezvous point ahead of time. They rest up for the night, and are greeted the next morning with three members of the group missing and Taggert having pulled up in his car waiting for the knapsacks full of gold bars to be loaded onto his vehicle. Singh and Amis are the only ones around, and Murphy appears out of the woods having just fought with Letender, who was strangled to death by Rankin. A shoot out follows in which Murphy guns down Amis, while Taggert makes off in his car laden with the gold bars. Murphy commandeers a passing US Government car which has a speed limiter of 35MPH, and so stops the car with little hope of catching up to Taggert. He opens up the hood, plays around with the engine and disengages the speed limiter, and so the chase is back on. Murphy catches up with Taggert and runs his vehicle off the road causing it to flip end over end down a steep embankment and coming to rest on its roof. 

Murphy, Anna, Singh and Rankin return to the work camp and confront Clancy. They have the gold in their possession but Murphy outlines how the deal is going to go down, saying that they are prepared to split the gold equally including a share for the Olson family and for him to take a share, in exchange for signing their release papers there and then, for his silence and for their silence in not revealing his complicity in the crime. And one other thing Murphy asks for - the vehicle that he fixed up for the Warden the previous week, and the registration papers to be signed over. The deal is done, and everyone walks away happy and content, and Murphy is reunited with Penny as they drive off at speed in their new car down the back roads of Oregon. 

For first time Director Padraic McKinley, he has delivered us a film with 'The Weight' that is a throw back to the movies of yesteryear with an all too relatable story, strong performances, beautiful scenery, some moments of tension and a thumping soundtrack. All kudos must go to the understated everyman performance of Ethan Hawke, who is light on dialogue but high on emotional facial expressions in this tale of stolen gold bullion and ne'er do well crims masquerading as upstanding law abiding citizens. Beautifully filmed, this is a movie for Dad's everywhere wanting to sit back and enjoy a confidently made historical survival thriller the like of which is all too thin on the ground these days. 

'The Weight' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-