On March 5, 1873, Norwegian immigrants Karen Christenson and her sister-in-law, Anethe Christenson, are brutally murdered on Smuttynose Island, a lonely island among the Isles of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast. Karen's younger sister, Maren Hontvedt, survived the attack. Louis Wagner, who briefly boarded in Maren's house and once tried to seduce her, is convicted of the murders and executed. In the present, newspaper photographer Jean Janes begins researching the murders, and travels to Smuttynose with her husband Thomas, an award-winning poet. They travel with Thomas's brother Rich, who owns a yacht, and Rich's girlfriend Adaline. In a twist of fate, Jean discovers archived papers apparently written by Maren Hontvedt, which give an account of her life on the island and the events leading up to the murders. The plot unfolds the narrative of the papers and Hontvedt's testimony against Wagner, while Jean privately struggles with jealousy as Adaline openly flirts with Thomas. Trying to suppress her fears of Adaline as a rival, Jean learns that Maren was brought from Norway to Smuttynose by her husband John, a man for whom she has no passion. Maren staves off melancholy and loneliness on the island by maintaining the homestead. Maren's spirits are lifted when her brother Evan arrives with his new wife, Anethe. Maren simultaneously contends with her sister Karen, a spinster who is stern in temperament and suspicious of her. Initially, Maren views Anethe as a rival for the affections of Evan. Soon, however, she begins to develop a desire for Anethe. The women are drawn closer after an injured Wagner, who has been staying in the Hontvedt home, attempts to sexually assault Anethe. On the day of the murders, Evan and John depart the island to acquire goods in Portsmouth, after which Anethe reveals to Maren and Karen that she is pregnant. At nightfall, Anethe begs for Maren to allow her to sleep in the same bed, out of fear of their isolated situation. Karen barges in and interprets the two women in bed together as clear evidence of Maren's hidden bisexuality. Karen reveals Maren and Evan's history of incest to Anethe, condemning Maren as a wicked woman unable to control her lust. In a fury, Maren strikes Karen with a chair, incapacitating her. Anethe attempts to escape, but Maren follows her outside and butchers her with an axe. Maren drags Anethe's body inside the house before strangling Karen to death. She then flees the scene, hiding in a cove until morning, after which she implicates Wagner as the killer. In the present, Rich has begun to flirt openly with Jean, which is noticed by Thomas. The tensions are unleashed in the midst of a turbulent storm while all four are aboard the yacht. Jean pushes Adaline overboard in a jealous rage while the brothers are both below deck. Both Jean and Thomas then plunge into the water, ostensibly to rescue her. Adaline is saved, but Thomas drowns. In a surreal sequence, Jean encounters both Anethe and Maren underwater, before she manages to return to the surface and swim to safety. The film concludes in the 19th century with Maren's guilt leading her to confess to the murders several years after Wagner had already been hanged. However, the courts refuse to accept Maren's confession, choosing instead to continue to adhere to the jury's original decision.
Director Kathryn Bigelow was partly inspired to adapt Anita Shreve's novel, The Weight of Water (1997), as the story prominently involved Norwegian immigrants; Bigelow's mother herself had immigrated to the United States from Norway. Bigelow had read the novel in manuscript form while filming Strange Days (1995):
The Weight of Water was a box-office bomb, earning $45,888 during its premiere weekend in the United States at 27 theaters, opening alongside I Spy and The Santa Clause 2. It went on to gross $109,130 in the U.S., with an additional $212,149 from international markets, making for a total worldwide gross of $321,279 against a $16 million budget.
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