The Weight (2026)★ 7.4/10

One of my favourite actors is Ethan Hawke. I love him as an actor and a human being. His new movie is THE WEIGHT. I went into this not really knowing what to expect. On the surface, it’s a pretty straightforward survival thriller: a group of prisoners transporting gold through the wilderness in 1933, with freedom supposedly waiting for them at the other end. But the movie gets so much mileage out of that simple setup. The gold becomes more than something they’re carrying—it represents greed, desperation, freedom, and literally the weight these men are willing to put themselves through for the possibility of a better life. Hawke is fantastic yet again. He gives Murphy this quiet desperation that makes the entire movie work. You understand that everything he does comes back to one thing: getting home to his daughter. Russell Crowe is great too, even though I honestly wish there was more of him. His presence hangs over the movie even when he isn’t on screen. What surprised me most was how tense the journey became. There are sequences where something as simple as crossing difficult terrain had me completely locked in. The cinematography is gorgeous, but the wilderness never feels romanticized—it feels dangerous, exhausting, and enormous. I also loved that this feels like an older kind of movie. It’s patient. It lets characters sit in silence. It trusts the actors. It doesn’t feel like it’s desperately trying to set up a sequel or constantly remind you that you’re watching a “big” movie. It just tells its story. There are a few places where the pacing drags slightly, and I would have liked some of the supporting characters to get a little more development. By the end, though, I was completely invested. The score can also be a little abrasive at times. What starts as a movie about carrying gold gradually becomes a story about what people carry for the ones they love—and what they’re willing to let go of. Overall, THE WEIGHT is beautifully shot, tense as hell, and anchored by another incredible Ethan Hawke performance. Go see this tiny film!