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The Pledge
2001
Director Sean Penn's (THE INDIAN RUNNER, THE CROSSING GUARD) third film features Jack Nicholson as Jerry Black, a retired detective whose final case ultimately causes his slow descent into madness. In the midst of his retirement party, Black decides to join Detective Stan Krolak (Aaron Eckhart) on one last case. The molested .. Read more
| Starring | Jack Nicholson, Helen Mirren, Michael O'Keefe, Mickey Rourke |
|---|---|
| Director | Sean Penn |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Pledge
Director Sean Penn's (THE INDIAN RUNNER, THE CROSSING GUARD) third film features Jack Nicholson as Jerry Black, a retired detective whose final case ultimately causes his slow descent into madness. In the midst of his retirement party, Black decides to join Detective Stan Krolak (Aaron Eckhart) on one last case. The molested body of an eight-year-old girl is found in the Nevada mountains. When the chief suspect turns out to be a mentally challenged Native American (Benicio Del Toro), Black is not convinced of his guilt despite his confession. Unable to forget the promise he made to the dead girl's mother that he would find her daughter's killer, Black becomes determined to catch a monster that no one else believes is out there. His resolve increases when he realizes that two similar unsolved murders occurred in the same area in recent years, and the case hits closer to home when Black befriends Lori (Robin Wright Penn), a waitress with a threatening ex-husband, and her eight-year old daughter, Chrissy (Pauline Roberts). Nicholson is compelling in this study of a man whose obsession slowly eats away at his sanity as he attempts to keep his promise by any means necessary.
| Starring | Jack Nicholson, Helen Mirren, Michael O'Keefe, Mickey Rourke, Aaron Eckhart, Sam Shepard, Vanessa Redgrave, Patricia Clarkson, Robin Wright, Dale Dickey, Tom Noonan, Harry Dean Stanton, Lois Smith |
|---|---|
| Director | Sean Penn |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 59 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 15 Apr 2002 Production year: 2001 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Going behind the camera for the third time, Sean Penn proves his skill as a director and provides Jack Nicholson with his best role in years in this slow-moving but utterly gripping drama, based on the bleak existential novel by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Nicholson plays Jerry Black, a detective on the eve of retirement who can't let go of a case that begins when a young girl's mutilated body is discovered in a remote snowy forest in Nevada. His colleagues believe a simple-minded ex-con, played by Benicio Del Toro, committed the crime, but Black is not convinced. Honouring a promise to the girl's parents that he will find the actual murderer, he conducts his own obsessive investigation, which embroils a mother (Robin Wright Penn) and her young daughter. It's languidly paced, downbeat and sombre, but continually gets under your skin thanks to Penn's atmospheric direction and terrific performances from a cast that also includes Aaron Eckhart, Sam Shepard and Mickey Rourke.
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Adapted from a book by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Penn's cop thriller-cum-psycho-drama is ambitious but deeply flawed.... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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13 out of 13 people found this review helpful
Jack at his best
Jack Nicholson plays a cop about to retire who just can't let go of one last case where a young child's mutilated body is found whilst the opening premise may smack of so many movies before it, "The Pledge" is not your average 'cop solves one last case' style movie. This is more akin to "Insomnia" in terms of quality of script, acting and direction. "The Pledge" is one of the most engrossing movies i've ever seen. Each character is beautifully written and played by an amazing cast of strong characters and outstanding cameos.
The suspense is strong all along the way and whilst some of the plot is intentionally obvious it still has enough shocks and twists to keep you interested whilst you follow the retired cop on his journey along with the people he meets on his way. And without giving too much away, it doesn't end quite how you would expect it to. Hollywood take note, please use Robin Wright Penn in more movies, she proves once and for all she's not just a pretty face (quite literally in this instance). -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
A good fim, entertaining and Jack Nicholson puts in a good performance. However, it is a run of the mill retiring cop storyline for most of the film. The only difference with this film is it tries to explain the decreasing sanity of the lead. It does quite well and the end is different to the usual. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite gel despite being quite lengthy. Worth a watch, but don't expect too much.
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News and features
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British dramas earn 23 Emmy nominations
- 07 Jul 2006
Elizabeth I and Bleak House have flown the British flag high in this year's nominations for the 58th Emmy Awards. Although US drama Into The West topped the bill with 16 nominations, Channel Four's Elizabeth I followed closely in second with a total of 13 nominations. Helen Mirren (Calendar Girls, The Pledge, Prime Suspect), who has won acclaim for her role as the virgin queen, has been nominated for the award for outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or a movie, as has Gillian Anderson (The Read more
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Director Sean Penn's (THE INDIAN RUNNER, THE CROSSING GUARD) third film features Jack Nicholson as Jerry Black, a retired detective whose final case ultimately causes his slow descent into madness. ... -