The Weight of Water is a movie that is almost indescribably bad. Every single aspect of it was some level of annoying or stupid, and yet it's constructed like Oscar bait that might appeal to the film elite. I can only bear to touch on a few of the low-lights, because if I think about this movie too long I'll just get more angry. Let's just start with the fact that half the movie is a flashback to what could have been an intriguing murder mystery. If only they didn't telegraph who did it and even have one of the present-day characters call out who did it, early in the film. This means, from that point on, the entire sequence in the past is just an agonizingly slow plod until we finally see HOW the person did it. They add one dumb reveal that is intended to shock the audience at the end, but didn't surprise me all that much (not that I cared at this point.) If you don't establish good characters, then you shouldn't discard a whodunnit and turn it into a how-and-why-dunnit.
Then there's the garbage going on in the present day. I have no idea why we're meant to care about anyone here. Sean Penn is at his all-time smarmiest, and there isn't a single moment where you don't want to punch him in the face. Elizabeth Hurley is there as the shameless tramp who has no qualms about throwing herself at a married man in front of his wife and her boyfriend. And the other two are the hapless idiots who just sit there and refuse to vocalize anything about it. Their journey makes no sense to me, and when it reaches the end I was hoping the entire boat would capsize so every single character would die. The only reason I don't call The Weight of Water one of the worst movies I've ever seen and give it the lowest possible ranking is the early flashback scenes. There is a moment when I was hooked and thought this was going to be a solid murder mystery. Then we entered modern day and I regretted ever thinking the movie might be good.
Then there's the garbage going on in the present day. I have no idea why we're meant to care about anyone here. Sean Penn is at his all-time smarmiest, and there isn't a single moment where you don't want to punch him in the face. Elizabeth Hurley is there as the shameless tramp who has no qualms about throwing herself at a married man in front of his wife and her boyfriend. And the other two are the hapless idiots who just sit there and refuse to vocalize anything about it. Their journey makes no sense to me, and when it reaches the end I was hoping the entire boat would capsize so every single character would die. The only reason I don't call The Weight of Water one of the worst movies I've ever seen and give it the lowest possible ranking is the early flashback scenes. There is a moment when I was hooked and thought this was going to be a solid murder mystery. Then we entered modern day and I regretted ever thinking the movie might be good.