The Pledge

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Benicio Del Toro, Robin Wright, Helen Mirren, Patricia Clarkson, Aaron Eckhart, Sam Sheperd, Mickey Rouke, Harry Dean Stanton, Vanessa Redgrave
Directed by: Sean Penn
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A retiring police officer (Jack Nicholson) pledges to find the murderer of a little girl.


Review:

Tim: Sean Penn manages to direct an interesting, well-cast film where not a whole lot actually happens. I'm sure that is one of the most common complaints of this film, and I hate to jump on a bandwagon, but I was shocked by this aspect of the movie. It is well directed and well acted, but it's surprisingly devoid of any action.

Now, to be clear, I'm not suggesting that I wanted to see a shoot 'em up action film. I knew with Penn in the director's chair that this would be a slow boiling, dramatic movie. However, the whole film simply feels like we're waiting for something big. The build-up is incredibly slow, but you can feel the pressure mounting towards the end of the movie. I give the film credit for not giving us what we expected, but the ending is so anti-climactic and unsatisfying that it ruined the whole experience for me. I'm not only suggesting that I didn't like the story was written, but Penn directs the conclusion in such a way that it feels like we were cheated. I wanted some kind of resolution, and the one we got wasn't presented very effectively.

The cast is pretty incredible. I love Jack Nicholson in the lead role. His look is unique and it's just fun to watch him in this role. It's a meaty role and he delivers a very strong performance. I liked seeing Benicio Del Toro in a small role, but it feels like he plays a variation of this role too often. Robin Wright was good, but it was a little jarring how she "uglied" herself up for the role. Still, despite her occasionally unrecognizable look, she still gives a strong performance. I also liked seeing Patricia Clarkson, Helen Mirren, and Mickey Rourke in small roles, but each were so insignificant that none of them manage to impact the overall quality of the film, other than that fun, "Hey!" moment of recognition. I enjoyed Aaron Eckhart in a supporting role.

This movie is definitely a pretty intense thriller. We are left wondering who the killer is and is there even a killer alive? This is an interesting twist on the "whodunit?" type of film. I liked the state of suspense we were kept in. Penn manages to really keep the audience guessing until the very end. That should be applauded.

While the movie does feature some strengths, overall, I felt like the whole thing could have been a lot better. Penn asks us to stick with him for 124 minutes, and at the end of the film, the build-up felt completely wasted. The ending of the movie was deflating and unsatisfying. In the end, this movie was only average, and I know Penn was shooting for more than that.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Crossing Guard