Le Poids de l'eau

Atmosphère fantastique - eau, musique sensuelle avec des saxophones, Sean Penn... un peu comme Scotch White Squall. Mais le scénario est totalement différent : à travers une histoire d'amour contemporaine (deux couples sur un yacht), il raconte une histoire d'amour linéairement différente à partir de meurtres beaucoup plus anciens (une tragédie familiale dans une petite île). Ironiquement, nous sommes plus intéressés par l'histoire contemporaine (très bien jouée, la chimie entre les personnages est brillante) que par la révélation de l'identité du meurtrier de la deuxième histoire (ennuyeuse, style narratif télévisuel). Les histoires se croisent à la fin, mais la collision de leurs idées coince un peu (ce sentiment que ce que vous voyez devrait être très spirituel et profond, mais ça ne l'est pas vraiment). Le film est relativement inconnu, peu attrayant pour le grand public. Les deux types d'environnement dans lesquels il se déroule signifient en effet deux publics très différents. P.S. Liz Hurley est putain d'irrésistible. (29/06/2009)

A psychological thriller that would work much better if it were set exclusively in the present and the screenwriter didn't try to forcefully connect two different stories that also take place a hundred years apart. The older part focuses on a crime of passion that can only have two possible culprits, and given that the viewer somewhat automatically calculates the "surprising" twist in the development of the process, logically only one person can be the perpetrator. This means that the only puzzle becomes his motivation. I must admit that I haven't waited for the resolution and final scene as much as in this case for a long time. The present-day story suffers from constant flashbacks to the distant past, effectively dulling its dramatic potential. Kathryn Bigelow directs reliably, but the film lacks spark, making it essentially a missed opportunity for me. Overall impression: 45%. (08/10/2010)

Kathryn Bigelow confirms quite radically that sophisticated melodramas are not really her thing, and I hope next time she sticks to the action genre, which suits her splendidly. The theme of The Weight of Water is more suitable for Jane Campion or Alejandro González Iñárritu. The cast is brilliant, but the alternative story from the 19th century is boring, and when it all ends, you sort of realise that this film would have worked much better as a pure conversational drama set in the present. (26/12/2009)