Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe—two of the most compelling actors of their generation—star in THE WEIGHT, an atmospheric Depression-era thriller from first-time feature director Padraic McKinley.
Hawke plays a devoted father sent to a brutal work camp, where Crowe’s corrupt warden offers him a dangerous chance to win his freedom and return to his daughter.
Premiering at Sundance before screening at the Berlin Film Festival, THE WEIGHT recalls the great character-driven adventure films of the 1970s, including SORCERER, DELIVERANCE and JEREMIAH JOHNSON—stories McKinley describes as being made of “grit, sweat and poetry.”
In our new conversation, McKinley takes us inside his remarkable feature directorial debut, filming in the punishing conditions of Germany’s Bavarian Forest and working with Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe– at the top of their games.
Join us for a new INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.
Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe) offers a high-stakes proposition: smuggle gold out of a remote mine with a dangerous crew of prisoners and he’ll win his freedom. But as the group journeys into the unforgiving wilderness, the real threat isn’t the terrain – it’s the betrayal and violence festering within their ranks. Surrounded by greed, suspicion, and danger, Samuel must risk everything to reunite with his child.