The Weight of Water (film)

The Weight of Water is a 2000 mystery thriller film based on Anita Shreve's 1997 novel The Weight of Water. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film stars Elizabeth Hurley, Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, Josh Lucas, Vinessa Shaw, Katrin Cartlidge, Ciaran Hinds, and Sarah Polley. The film was shot in Nova Scotia. Although it premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, it was not released in the United States until November 1, 2002.

Plot
In 1873, Karen Christensen and Anethe Christensen, Norwegian immigrants, are murdered on Smuttynose Island, a lonely island among the Isles of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast. Maren Hontvedt, also a Norwegian immigrant, survived the attack. Louis Wagner, who had once tried to seduce Maren, is convicted for the crime, and ultimately dies on the gallows.

In the present, newspaper photographer Jean Janes begins researching the murders, and travels to Smuttynose with her husband Thomas, an award-winning poet. They travel with Thomas's brother Rich, who owns a boat, and Rich's girlfriend Adaline. In a twist of fate, Jean discovers archived papers apparently written by Maren Hontvedt, and giving an account of her life on the island, and the murders.

The plot unfolds the narrative of the papers and Hontvedt's testimony against Wagner that gets him hanged, while Jean privately struggles with jealousy as Adaline openly flirts with Thomas. Trying to suppress her fears of Adaline as a rival, Jean learns that Maren was brought from Norway to Smuttynose by her husband, a man she has no passion for. Maren staves off melancholy and loneliness on the isolated island by keeping busy. Maren's spirits are lifted when her brother arrives on the island with his new wife, Anethe Christensen. But Maren must also contend with her own sister Karen, who is stern and suspicious. At first, Maren views Anethe as a rival for the affections of Maren's brother. Soon, however, she begins to nurse a desire for Anethe. On the night of the murders, with Maren's and Anethe's husbands away from the island, Maren draws close to Anethe, only to be caught by Karen. Maren's sister condemns her. In a fury of her own, Maren kills Karen and Anethe.

The movie ends with Maren trying to confess before Wagner is hanged. The courts refuse to accept Maren's confession, and Wagner dies on the gallows.

Cast

 * Elizabeth Hurley as Adaline Gunne
 * Catherine McCormack as Jean Janes
 * Sean Penn as Thomas Janes
 * Sarah Polley as Maren Hontvedt
 * Rita Kvist as young Maren
 * Josh Lucas as Rich Janes
 * Ciarán Hinds as Louis Wagner
 * Ulrich Thomsen as John Hontvedt
 * Anders W. Berthelsen as Evan Christenson
 * Jan Tore Kristoffersen as young Evan
 * Katrin Cartlidge as Karen Christenson
 * Vinessa Shaw as Anethe Christenson
 * Richard Donat as Mr. Plaisted
 * Adam Curry as Emil Ingerbretson
 * Karl Juliusson as Mr. Christenson
 * Michele Maillet (uncredited) as Mrs. Ingerbretson

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35%, based on reviews from 65 critics. The site's critical summary reads: "The story is too muddled to build any interest". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on reviews from 22 critics.

Critics felt that Bigelow had not achieved as much weight with the fictional story of the present against her portrayal of the events of the past. Stephen Holden of The New York Times said: "There is so much to admire in The Weight of Water, Kathryn Bigelow's churning screen adaptation of a novel by Anita Shreve, that when the movie finally collapses on itself late in the game, it leaves you in the frustrating position of having to pick up its scattered pieces and assemble them as best you can". Holden felt the two stories "never mesh".

Accolades

 * 2000: Nominated - San Sebastián International Film Festival – Golden Seashell for Kathryn Bigelow
 * 2001: Winner - Film by the Sea International Film Festival – Film and Literature Award for Kathryn Bigelow