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Movies / On DVD / The Pledge
The Pledge

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The Pledge (2001)

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Reviews Counted:117

Fresh:90

Rotten:27

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Though its subject matter is grim and may make viewers queasy, The Pledge features an excellent, subtle performance by Jack Nicholson.

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: 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.... 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. [More]

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio Del Toro

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio Del Toro, Dale Dickey, Aaron Eckhart, Costas Mandylor, Helen Mirren, Tom Noonan, Michael O'Keefe, Pauline Roberts, Vanessa Redgrave, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Lois Smith, Harry Dean Stanton

Director: Sean Penn

Director: Sean Penn
Screenwriter: Jerzy Kromolowski, Mary Olson-Kromolowski
Producer: Michael Fitzgerald, Sean Penn, Elie Samaha
Composer: Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Pledge

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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We left with a feeling of lethargy that made watching The Pledge hardly worth the effort.

Full Review Source: CinemaSense.Com | comment Comment
01/19/01
Cornell & Petricelli
Cornell & Petricelli
CinemaSense.Com

The payoff eventually shows up. We swear.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/19/01
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A movie of impressive performances and intriguing visuals that are worth the effort needed to let the tale roll out.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
01/19/01
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

It's the rare -- and rewarding -- police drama that cares more for character than plot.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/19/01
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Breathlessly catapults us back to the taut German films in the 1970s.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/19/01
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

A moving and unmannered motion picture -- a convincing portrait of a man at the end of his rope.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
01/19/01
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

Penn ... focuses on nuances that really get under your skin.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
01/19/01
Kim Morgan
Kim Morgan
Oregonian

The whole thing comes undone in the second half, with a series of sketchy character developments and plotting that gets more ludicrous by the minute.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/19/01
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Penn as director shows how he can turn an ordinary movie scene -- how many times have we seen a jailhouse interrogation? -- into something inventively, thrillingly singular.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
01/19/01
Steven Rosen
Steven Rosen
Denver Post

Nicholson is infinitely compelling to watch.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/19/01
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Incredibly somber and slow-paced, but well acted and directed.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
01/19/01
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

The length and rhythms of each scene flow so naturally that time seems to exist on-screen as a true mirror of reality.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/19/01
Mary Kalin-Casey
Mary Kalin-Casey
Reel.com

Those looking for a 'feel-good' movie are advised to go elsewhere -- unless watching artists working near their peak leaves you soaring.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/19/01
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

The performance, and the movie, remind us why Nicholson matters.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/19/01
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle

It will tax and exasperate the viewer, but along the way it will yield exceptional performances and some harrowing drama.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/19/01
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

The creation of atmosphere is so well done in this movie you could almost overlook a fairly empty narrative and a whopper of a cop-out ending. Almost.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/19/01
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

See it after you've refilled your Zoloft prescription.

Full Review Source: IFilm | comment Comment
01/19/01
Dave White
Dave White
IFilm

Scenes of the defenseless girl accepting gifts from a 6-foot-5 pedophile while Black watches from a helpless distance are, in my book, refund material.

comment Comment
01/19/01
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

The languidly paced Pledge builds slowly but eventually holds you firmly within its grasp.

comment Comment
01/19/01
George Thomas
George Thomas
Beacon Journal

[A] beautifully made bummer.

comment Comment
01/19/01
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Pledge

January 11, 2009: JackNicholson.org: The Jack Nicholson Pledge Interview: Breaking His Own Embargo On Letting it All Hang Out Opens in new window
More...

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