The Weight (2026)
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A desperate father is forced into a perilous gold heist to secure his daughter's future.
The story
In 1933 Oregon, Samuel Murphy, a World War I veteran and widower, struggles to support his young daughter, Penny, during the Great Depression. After being evicted and imprisoned for a fight with police, Murphy is left to worry about Penny becoming a ward of the state. While in a convict labor camp, he impresses the warden, who offers him an early release in exchange for a dangerous task. Murphy enlists three other prisoners to transport a supply of gold bricks across a wilderness trek to safety, unaware of the true nature of the mission.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1933 Eugene, Oregon, Samuel Murphy, a WWI veteran and widower, is imprisoned after a fight with police, leaving his daughter Penny in a children's home. At a convict labor camp, he impresses Warden Clancy, who offers him early release if he helps transport gold bricks for a man named Taggert. Murphy recruits three other prisoners—Rankin, Singh, and Olson—to carry the gold across a wilderness trek. They are joined by Anna, an Indigenous runaway. During the journey, they face treacherous terrain, including a rope bridge and a river crossing where Rankin is nearly swept away. They are pursued by Taggert's armed guards, Amis and Letender. After several near-misses and the death of Olson, Murphy discovers that Taggert intends to kill the convicts after the delivery. Murphy eventually kills Amis and manages to run Taggert off the road. He confronts Clancy, revealing the warden was in league with Taggert for a cut of the gold. The group disposes of the bodies, and Clancy agrees to release the three convicts in exchange for the gold. Murphy returns to Eugene, reunites with Penny, and gives her back her teddy bear.
- First release year
- 2026
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- Germany; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Padraic McKinley
- Writers
- Matthew Booi · screenplay; Shelby Gaines · screenplay; Matthew Book · story; Leo Scherman · story; Matthew Chapman · story
- Cast and characters
- Ethan Hawke · Samuel Murphy; Russell Crowe · Warden Clancy; Julia Jones · Anna; Austin Amelio · Rankin; Avi Nash · Singh; Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen · Olson; George Burgess · Letender; Cameron Brady · The Man
- Genres
- historical drama; thriller; crime
- Themes
- desperation; survival; sacrifice; betrayal
- Tone and mood
- gripping; hard-hitting; desperate
- Setting
- Eugene, Oregon and Klamath Falls, Oregon in 1933
- Premise and plot tags
- historical drama; prison film; smuggling; 1930s; Oregon
- Source material / true-story basis
- original screenplay and story
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, with a 94% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 70/100 score on Metacritic. Audiences gave it a 'B+' on CinemaScore.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 94% · review count: 141; Metacritic · score: 70 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Production trivia
- Principal photography took place in and around Viechtach, Germany in July 2025.; The film was primarily shot in Bavaria and received €2 million from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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