The Weight of Water

REVIEW
A photojournalist-slash-unhappy wife (McCormack) sails to the coast of New Hampshire to investigate the century-old double murder of two female Norwegian immigrants. Also on board are her has-been writer-slash-sot husband (Penn), his bland sailor brother (Lucas) and the brother's gorgeous, scantily clad girlfriend (Hurley). Jealous tensions on the boat mount as Penn lecherously ogles voluptuous Hurley while McCormack gradually unravels the vexing mystery of the legendary killings. The film flashes back and forth from current day to 1873, but there's so much toggling between the two time lines that neither one ever gains any real momentum. More crippling is the lack of a truly unifying plot thread to tie the two parallel story strands irrevocably together. The period sequences are exquisitely filmed, yet weighed down by a "Scarlet Letter"-like stodginess; a pointless storm-at-sea climax exists only to inject the modern-day finale with some much-needed adrenaline, though it does give action director Bigelow the opportunity to demonstrate her solid technical prowess. A curious misfire, worth a look for its heavy star power.