neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Weight Of Water
	Kathryn Bigelow Sean Penn, Catherine McCormack, Elizabeth Hurley, Josh Lucas, Sarah Polley, Vinessa Shaw, Katrin Cartlidge 2000		Her filmography is uneven, but director Kathryn Bigelow could always be counted on for high-energy movie-making. Her sub drama "K-19: The Widowmaker" and her millennium sci-fi flick "Strange Days" are nothing if not vibrant. But Bigelow's "The Weight of Water" — melding two parallel stories set in different times — plods, despite stabs at suspense and moments of gore. This queasy-making period murder mystery, plus present-day psychological thriller, languished unreleased for a couple of years, and it's understandable. The cast — with Sean Penn, Catherine McCormack, Elizabeth Hurley, Josh Lucas, Sarah Polley, Vinessa Shaw — is a mixed bag, and their acting styles seem to clash. So do the interrelated plot lines, as magazine photographer Jean (McCormack) and husband Thomas (Penn) sail to New Hampshire's Isles of Shoals on a boat belonging to her brother-in-law Rich (Lucas). While investigating an unsolved local crime from the 1800s, Jean begins to suspect that Thomas is having an affair with Rich's desirable girlfriend (Hurley), who's along for the ride. It's a two-pot potboiler that doesn't boil.