The Weight of Water /

The Weight of Water is a 2000 film based on the novel of the same name by Anita Shreve. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film stars Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley, Sarah Polley, Josh Lucas and Catherine McCormack. Although it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2000, it was not released in the US until November of 2002. A newspaper photographer, Jean, travels to the Isles of Shoals with her husband Thomas, his brother Rich, and Rich's girlfriend to research the real-life murder of two women in 1873. In a twist of fate, Jean discovers archived papers that appear to give an account of the murders by the lone survivor, a Norwegian immigrant named Maren. The plot weaves between the narrative of these papers and Jean's private struggle with jealousy and suspicion as she suspects her husband of infidelity.