Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 04/27/2004

Amazon.com:
This complicated mystery, directed with passionate intensity by Katherine Bigelow (Near Dark), deserves better than the paltry distribution it received in theaters. Granted, it's a tough sell: a contrast between the emotional unrest in a group of modern travelers and a hundred-year-old murder case on a desolate New England island. A photographer (Catherine McCormack) is researching the old case, and we flip back and forth between time periods as she uncovers new clues. The parallel-story structure is often tricky to pull off in movies, and Bigelow, working from the Anita Shreve novel, doesn't entirely solve it here. But the old mystery, set in a strict Norwegian community, is compelling, and the cast is stronger than the material: Sarah Polley and the late Katrin Cartlidge are stand-outs in the 1873 scenes, and Sean Penn (believably insufferable) and Elizabeth Hurley flirt naughtily in the modern. --Robert Horton

This film follows two story lines, a group of modern people investigating an 1873 double murder, and the people who lived through the murders. The story intertwines in a way that helps the viewer understand what motivates both the researchers and the victims. The generally accepted theory was that a boarder made unwanted advances on women and then killed them. But something doesn't add up. Could the guilty man really be innocent? That is the theory Jean Janes (Catherine McCormack) comes up with after studying the case.

The theory proves correct, and the accuser turned out to be the murderer. In the end the realization ultimately claims the life of her husband played by Sean Penn. Penn's performace is a bit subpar from his other roles where he envelopes his character. In Thomas Janes, Penn never really establishes himself as the lead actor.

But the movie is still worth a look. It has suspense, romance, intrigue, and utlimately is quite entertaining.

Average Rating:

Rating: - The Weight of Water
This film follows two story lines, a group of modern people investigating an 1873 double murder, and the people who lived through the murders. The story intertwines in a way that helps the viewer understand what motivates both the researchers and the victims. The generally accepted theory was that a boarder made unwanted advances on women and then killed them. But something doesn't add up. Could the guilty man really be innocent? That is the theory Jean Janes (Catherine McCormack) comes up with after studying the case.

The theory proves correct, and the accuser turned out to be the murderer. In the end the realization ultimately claims the life of her husband played by Sean Penn. Penn's performace is a bit subpar from his other roles where he envelopes his character. In Thomas Janes, Penn never really establishes himself as the lead actor.

But the movie is still worth a look. It has suspense, romance, intrigue, and utlimately is quite entertaining.

Rating: - The Weight of Water
I am sorry, but this film is too distracting with the way it is being portrayed. I do not think it was in the best interest of the film to keep switching back and forth from the present to the past. It is too confusing to the viewers and it distracts from the plot of the film. I lost interest very quickly, and if it weren't for the fact that I am originally from Portsmouth,NH, I probably would not have purchased this film at all!

---

Rating: - How to really watch this movie
Get "Knife In The Water" and a documentary about Lizzy Borden, throw in some lesbians and some Ibsen, a short sleezy soft-porn film and take THAT home from the library. It couldn't be any more disjointed and silly than this mess. The actors are all phoning it in. If you want to see a film chopped into episodes, get "Kwaidan." If you want to see one where the bits all fit together, get "Pulp Fiction." I think "Weight" was supposed to be scary, but it's ridiculous. They wanted to throw people in the water off Halifax but they had to film the swimming scenes in Mexico -- because if you jump in the water off Halifax, you will freeze to death. Or you will come up screaming and covered in goose-bumps and that's not so attractive with a bikini. This thing is about as scary and goofy as "The Blair Witch Project."

---

Rating: - Nice Movie
I loved this move, I saw it on-demand and I must have watched it everyday. I finally decided to purchase it, and this was the cheapest price. Believe it or not, this is a true story.

---

Rating: - The Book is Better - I agree with another reviewer
This film has a talented cast but the beauty of this story within a story is that it is a prequel to Anita Shreve's The Last Time They Met. The story has potential that just doesn't translate well into film. Partly because Shreve is a master storyteller whose prose is very strong on subtext and context. Best to read the book then watch the movie of love loss betrayal and affairs that never die. Penn does a great job of brining the brooding poet Thomas Jane to life.

see more

Related Items:

Double Whammy

Kill Cruise

Blue Steel (1990)

Aria

The Loveless