The Shape of Water falls into the realm of magical realism, which is a genre of literature and film wherein the story is grounded in an incredibly realistic reality, but is combined with elements of magic. | The movie was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, whose "Strange Days" (1995) was a smart futuristic thriller, inexplicably overlooked by audiences. And the revelations in the historical story would have more depth and resonance if we'd spent more time with the characters--if all of their scenes were not essentially part of the set-up. Rated R The older story is the more absorbing. Although it premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, it was not released in the United States until November 1, 2002. [3] On Metacritic the film has a score of 45% based on reviews from 22 critics. Showing all 3 items Jump to: Summaries (3) Summaries. Unlike "Possession" or "The French Lieutenant's Woman," in which modern and historical stories are linked in an intriguing way, "The Weight of Water" seems more like an exercise. The Weight of Water follows photographer Jean, who along with her husband Thomas, daughter Billie, Rich (Thomas' brother), and Adaline, Rich's girlfriend, set out on a sailing excursion. Jean privately struggles with jealousy as Adaline openly flirts with Thomas, who openly appreciates Adaline's topless beauty, along with her interest in his work. Stephen Holden of The New York Times said, "There is so much to admire in The Weight of Water, Kathryn Bigelow's churning screen adaptation of a novel by Anita Shreve, that when the movie finally collapses on itself late in the game, it leaves you in the frustrating position of having to pick up its scattered pieces and assemble them as best you can. I like her work, but with "The Weight of Water" I think her problems began with the very decision to tell these two stories alternately. The Weight of Water is a 2000 French-American mystery thriller film based on Anita Shreve's 1997 novel The Weight of Water. The Weight of Water is a 2000 French-American mystery thriller film based on Anita Shreve's 1997 novel The Weight of Water. In 1873, on an island off the coast of New Hampshire, two Norwegian immigrant women are found murdered with an ax. The storm at the end, which I will not describe in detail, involves violence and action which would be right at home in a seafaring thriller, but seems hauled into this material only to provide an exciting action climax. Taglines Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film stars Elizabeth Hurley, Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, and Sarah Polley. [4], Critics felt that Bigelow had not achieved as much weight with the fictional story of the present against her portrayal of the events of the past. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 35% based on reviews from 65 critics. Jean privately struggles with jealousy as Adaline openly flirts with Thomas, who openly appreciates Adaline's topless beauty, along with her interest in his work. In so doing, she reveals how she was caught in a loveless marriage and her repressed passion for her brother. In a twist of fate, Jean discovers archived papers that appear to give an account of the murders. The movie tells the two stories so separately, indeed, that each one acts as a distraction from the other. Thu 10 Apr 2014 07.00 EDT. [2] Although it premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, it was not released in the United States until November 1, 2002. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film stars Elizabeth Hurley, Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, and Sarah Polley. For Violence, Sexuality/Nudity and Brief Language, CIFF 2020: Black Perspectives Program Highlights Diverse Voices, CIFF 2020: The Roger Ebert Award Returns to Champion New Voices, Immerse Yourself in Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project #3. Maren is married to John Hontvedt (Ulrich Thomsen) but does not love him; her brother arrives on the island with his new bride Anethe (Vinessa Shaw), and there is also her sister Karen (Katrin Cartlidge, whose performance is a reminder of how much we lost when she died at such an early age). "The Weight of Water" tells two stories of family jealousy, separated by more than a century and heightened by lurid melodrama, bloody murder, incest and storms at sea. According to the papers, Norwegian immigrant Maren Hontvedt, survived the attack, which was allegedly done by Louis Wagner, who had once tried to seduce her. The plot unfolds the narrative of the papers and Hontvedt's testimony against Wagner that gets him hanged, even though she was the murderer, as Jean surmises. You may think that this is boring, but actually it is one of my favourite books' That'sMe. The movie ends with Hontvedt trying to confess before he is hanged, in vain, as the modern-day characters get caught in a severe storm, where reality and fantasy collide. Parents Guide. In 1873 on Smutty Nose Island, a bleak island off the coast of New England, Louis Wagner is tried and hanged for the murder of two women. The Weight of Water (2000) Plot. [5], San Sebastián International Film Festival, "The Weight of Water (2000) - International Box Office Results", STEPHEN HOLDEN, "FILM REVIEW; Women at the Edge, a Century Apart", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Weight_of_Water_(film)&oldid=979725022, Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from February 2018, All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 2001: Winner - Film by the Sea International Film Festival – Film and Literature Award for Kathryn Bigelow, This page was last edited on 22 September 2020, at 12:12. The plot unfolds the narrative of the papers and Hontvedt's testimony against Wagner that gets him hanged, even though she was the murderer, as Jean surmises. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Movie Reviews Great Movies Collections TV/Streaming Features Chaz's Journal Interviews. Between Strickland's conservative beliefs, Hoffstetler's secret identity as a KGB spy, and other hallmarks of Cold War era America, The Shape of Water is firmly grounded in its 1960s setting. By the end of the movie, we will have a deeper understanding of the emotional undertow on the island, and we will know that Maren's love for her brother Evan (Anders W. Berthelsen) is at the center of the intrigue. THE WEIGHT OF WATER. Meanwhile, in the present-day, newspaper photographer Jean travels to the island off the New Hampshire coast with her husband Thomas, an award-winning poet, his brother Rich, and Rich's girlfriend Adaline. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Synopsis submission guide. A newspaper photographer researches an 1873 double homicide and finds her own life paralleling that of a witness who survived the tragic ordeal. A newspaper photographer researches an 1873 double homicide and finds her own life paralleling that of a witness who survived the tragic ordeal. She makes … While either one of the stories could make a plausible thriller, the movie's structure undercuts them both. Her credits also include the effective "K-19: The Widowmaker," the submarine thriller from earlier this year. Jean is assigned to take photographs for a magazine piece about an ancient crime on the granite island of Smuttynose, off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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