We left with a feeling of lethargy that made watching The Pledge hardly worth the effort.
The Pledge (2001)
Tomatometer
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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.
Reviews for The Pledge
A movie of impressive performances and intriguing visuals that are worth the effort needed to let the tale roll out.
It's the rare -- and rewarding -- police drama that cares more for character than plot.
Breathlessly catapults us back to the taut German films in the 1970s.
A moving and unmannered motion picture -- a convincing portrait of a man at the end of his rope.
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.
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.
The length and rhythms of each scene flow so naturally that time seems to exist on-screen as a true mirror of reality.
Those looking for a 'feel-good' movie are advised to go elsewhere -- unless watching artists working near their peak leaves you soaring.
It will tax and exasperate the viewer, but along the way it will yield exceptional performances and some harrowing drama.
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.
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.
The languidly paced Pledge builds slowly but eventually holds you firmly within its grasp.
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