The Weight of Water (film)

The Weight of Water

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2000
Key people	Kathryn Bigelow (director), Alice Arlen and Christopher Kyle (screenwriters)
Products	Psychological thriller film
Parent	StudioCanal, Lionsgate Films

The Weight of Water is a psychological thriller film released in 2000, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The cast includes Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley, Josh Lucas, Vinessa Shaw, Katrin Cartlidge, Ciarán Hinds, and Sarah Polley. Adapted from the 1997 novel by Anita Shreve, the story centers on a newspaper photographer investigating the 1873 murders of two Norwegian immigrants on the Isles of Shoals. As she delves deeper, her own experiences begin to parallel those of a historical witness. The film utilizes a nonlinear storytelling approach, interweaving present-day events with dramatized historical sequences.

A collaboration between U.S. and French production companies, The Weight of Water was shot in late 1999 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It debuted at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival and was featured at multiple other festivals before being released in the United States on November 1, 2002, through Lionsgate Films. Despite its $16 million production budget, the movie earned just $321,279 at the box office and was met with predominantly negative reviews from critics.

Plot

On March 5, 1873, two Norwegian immigrants—Karen Christenson and her sister-in-law Anethe Christenson—are found murdered on Smuttynose Island, part of the Isles of Shoals near New Hampshire. Karen’s younger sister, Maren Hontvedt, survives the incident. Louis Wagner, who had briefly stayed at Maren’s residence and previously attempted to seduce her, is convicted and executed for these crimes.

In contemporary times, newspaper photographer Jean Janes investigates this cold case. She travels to Smuttynose accompanied by her husband Thomas, an acclaimed poet; Thomas’s brother Rich, who owns a yacht; and Rich’s girlfriend Adaline. During her research, Jean uncovers archived writings by Maren Hontvedt that recount her life on the island and the circumstances leading up to the murders.

The story shifts between Maren’s testimony against Wagner and Jean’s present-day struggles with jealousy as Adaline flirts with Thomas. Maren was brought from Norway by her emotionally distant husband John and copes with isolation by managing their homestead. Her mood improves when her brother Evan arrives with his new wife Anethe. Maren also faces tension with Karen, a strict spinster who views her with suspicion. Initially perceiving Anethe as a romantic rival for Evan’s attention, Maren’s feelings evolve after an injured Wagner attempts to assault Anethe.

On the day of the murders, Evan and John depart for Portsmouth. Anethe confides in Maren and Karen that she is expecting a child and asks to share a bed due to fear. Karen interrupts them, accusing Maren of concealed bisexuality and revealing an incestuous past between Maren and Evan. In a fit of rage, Maren strikes Karen, then kills Anethe with an axe and strangles Karen before escaping. She later implicates Wagner as the murderer.

In the present timeline aboard Rich’s yacht during a storm, tensions escalate as Rich flirts with Jean. Driven by jealousy, Jean pushes Adaline overboard; both Jean and Thomas jump in to save her. Although Adaline survives, Thomas drowns. Jean experiences a surreal underwater vision involving Anethe and Maren before swimming back to safety.

The film concludes in the 19th century with Maren confessing to committing the murders several years after Wagner’s execution. However, the court declines to accept her admission and upholds Wagner’s original conviction.

Cast

Listed by order of appearance:

Development

Director Kathryn Bigelow chose to adapt Anita Shreve's 1997 novel, The Weight of Water, largely because of its emphasis on Norwegian immigrants, a heritage she shares through her mother. She encountered the book’s manuscript during the production of Strange Days (1995) and felt a personal resonance with its themes.

The screenplay, crafted by Alice Arlen and Christopher Kyle, merges a partly fictionalized retelling of the 1873 double homicide of Norwegian settlers on Smuttynose Island—an event that led to Louis Wagner’s execution—with a modern-day storyline featuring a journalist delving into the historical case.

Initially developed under Phoenix Pictures, the film eventually received funding from StudioCanal.

Casting

In early August 1999, Sean Penn and Sarah Polley were secured for leading roles. Bigelow selected Polley after admiring her work in Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter (1997).

Filming

Although the narrative is set on Smuttynose Island within the Isles of Shoals near New Hampshire and Maine, principal photography took place mainly in and around Halifax, Nova Scotia, operating on a $16 million budget. Shooting commenced on September 13, 1999, spanning approximately eight weeks and including locations such as Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.

Release

The Weight of Water debuted at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall during the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2000. Subsequent screenings followed at the twentieth Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax and the San Sebastián Film Festival later that month, with an additional presentation at the London Film Festival in November 2000.

Despite its festival circuit presence, distributor Lionsgate Films delayed the film’s release for over two years before a limited run in 27 U.S. theaters starting November 1, 2002. The movie had earlier premiered in France on July 31, 2002. Notably, actress Katrin Cartlidge passed away shortly after the French premiere and prior to the U.S. release.

Home media

Lionsgate Home Entertainment made the film available on VHS and DVD beginning March 4, 2003. StudioCanal issued a Blu-ray version in France in 2021. On December 19, 2024, Australian distributor Imprint Films announced a Blu-ray release that became available on March 25, 2025.

Box office

The Weight of Water performed poorly commercially, earning only $45,888 during its opening weekend across 27 U.S. theaters. It opened alongside titles such as I Spy and The Santa Clause 2. The domestic gross totaled $109,130 with an international take of $212,149, culminating in $321,279 worldwide against its $16 million production budget.

Critical response

Critical reception was mixed to predominantly negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 35% approval rating based on 65 critiques, with consensus noting the narrative was "too muddled to build any interest." On Metacritic, it received a score of 45 out of 100 from 22 reviewers. Many critics regarded the contemporary fictional storyline as weaker than the historical true crime element.

Reviewers such as Stephen Holden from The New York Times and Peter Howell of the Toronto Star criticized the lack of cohesion between the dual narratives. Several commentators including Roger Ebert and Lisa Schwarzbaum unfavorably compared it to Neil LaBute’s similarly structured Possession, released that same year.

Holden observed that despite some commendable aspects, the film "collapses on itself late in the game" due to disconnected storylines. Howell acknowledged Bigelow’s direction but suggested that extending the runtime might have better supported the modern plotline. Rob Mackie from The Guardian praised Polley’s acting but felt both storylines were underdeveloped.

Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club criticized the split narrative and contemporary characters as lacking depth. Schwarzbaum described a "sogginess" afflicting the modern sections compared to the period drama portions. Kirk Honeycutt characterized it as an elusive psychological thriller intertwined with a historical murder mystery.

Ebert found the period drama more engaging yet noted that each storyline detracted from one another despite shared thematic undertones. Marc Mohan of The Oregonian recognized themes of suppressed desire but concluded that the two plots failed to harmonize effectively.

Positive assessments came from Berge Garabedian of JoBlo.com, who lauded Polley’s performance and recommended it for enthusiasts of period mysteries involving infidelity and murder. Stephanie Zacharek from Salon praised Bigelow’s direction and atmospheric tone despite narrative weaknesses.

In a 2017 career retrospective on Bigelow, Alisha Grauso described this film as "the overlooked cinematic child" within her oeuvre—ambitious and personal yet flawed due to its complex nonlinear storytelling across multiple timelines and perspectives.

Accolades

Awarding Body	Year	Award Category	Honoree	Outcome
San Sebastián International Film Festival	2000	Golden Seashell	Kathryn Bigelow	Template:Nominated
Film by the Sea	2001	Film and Literature Prize		Template:Won