THE WEIGHT (2026)

Genre: Drama/Adventure
Director: Padraic McKinley
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Sam Hazeldine, George Burgess, Alec Newman, Avy Berry
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 29 October 2026

Synopsis: 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. 

Movie Review:

Ethan Hawke, for that matter, doesn’t really play a lot of happy-go-lucky or mainstream roles and characters. Introspective, reserved and morally conflicted characters fit his melancholic aura, which leads us to his latest role as Samuel Murphy in The Weight.

Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Samuel Murphy (Hawke) is a WWI veteran struggling to provide for his young daughter, Penny. After a scuffle with plainclothes policemen, Samuel is thrown into a labour camp while Penny is sent to a children’s home. Eager to be reunited with his daughter, Samuel accepts an offer from Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe) and mine owner Taggert (Alec Newman) to smuggle gold bricks across some treacherous terrain.

Together with three of his fellow inmates, Rankin (Austin Amelio), Singh (Avi Nash) and Olson (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen), as well as two of the boss’s henchmen, Letender (George Burgess) and Amis (Sam Hazeldine), Samuel embarks on a treacherous journey filled with dangerous natural obstacles and even more dangerous men. Along the way, a Native American woman named Anna (Julia Jones) joins the group and becomes a potential love interest for Samuel.

The story is simple yet compelling. Sure, it takes a while for the adventure to get going in the wilderness, given the initial setup between Samuel and Clancy. At least there is a proper build-up to what lies ahead. With his knowledge of automobiles and engineering, Samuel has what it takes to impress Clancy. Deep down, however, we know that Clancy and Taggert are certainly up to no good.

Stripped of flashy visuals and contemporary filmmaking gimmicks, The Weight, the feature directorial debut of Padraic McKinley, with a story credited to Matthew Chapman, Matthew Booi and Leo Scherman, is an old-fashioned, intense adventure that reminds us how hard it has become to come across a good movie of this sort in recent years.

The weight in the title probably refers to the burden carried by Samuel. After all, he has a daughter he desperately wants to reunite with, and as Clancy puts it, “A problem shared is a burden halved.” Or does it refer primarily to the weight of the gold bricks, which could prove critical when crossing a rickety wooden bridge? Whatever the case, the movie reminds us that it takes more than greed to navigate life’s obstacles and come out unscathed.

The main characters each have their own backstories. Singh was arrested for protesting, while young Olson ended up behind bars for threatening a banker. Amelio might be playing the resident sleazeball, but Rankin may or may not turn out to be the usual stereotype. Jones’ Anna, meanwhile, appears to be a runaway slave of sorts, although her character remains frustratingly underdeveloped by the time the movie ends. Crowe, on the other hand, appears only at the beginning and end, despite having his face and name plastered all over the poster. As for Hawke, he never disappoints, once again nailing the role of an intelligent, quietly determined underdog.

The Weight might not be everyone’s cup of tea, particularly when it comes to its pacing, dialogue and setup, which may prove challenging for audiences accustomed to more commercially accessible titles. Nevertheless, this independent production delivers handsome performances and solid production values, making it a worthwhile adventure.

Movie Rating:

(Part survival thriller, part heist and ultimately a test of humanity, this old-fashioned adventure carries its weight)

Review by Linus Tee