The Weight of Water (2000)

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writers (WGA):

Anita Shreve (novel)
Alice Arlen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 March 2001 (Italy)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Hell hath no fury...

Plot:

A newspaper photographer, Jean, researches the lurid and sensational axe murder of two women in 1873...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Axe Murder | Island | Banishment | Incest

Awards:

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
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
John Maclaren	...	Dr. Parsons

Also Known As:

Le poids de l'eau (France)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

Russia:113 min | USA:113 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Fox Baja Studios, Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Company:

Studio Canal

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When John Doofus, the Norwegian husband, turns the tea mug over at the site of the murders, there is a modern factory silkscreen stamp on the bottom of the mug.

Quotes:

Maren Hontvedt: I have discovered in my life that it is not always the nature of god nor why he may bring in one night pleasure & death & rage & tenderness all intermingled so that one can barely distinguish one from the other... and it is all that one can do to hang onto sanity.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld (2005) (V)

Sarah Polley is fantastic

When a movie gets itself over certain hurdles, establishing believability, mainly, and creating audience sympathy with/for one or more characters-- I am willing to silence my nagging inner critic, who is perhaps a thwarted pleasure principle raising its head to be fed.

Sarah Polley makes this film. Her acting was excellent, but I found myself, at first, most delighted by her "Norweigan" accent. As the movie went on, I got addicted to that accent, which for me had become integral to her performance. She, not Hurley, not Penn, was the centerpiece of this movie. But everyone was good, and the two story lines came together at the end satisfyingly.

Until I looked Sarah Polley up on IMDb I didn't realize how "busy" she's been (and will be). Also a writer and director ...