The Pledge (2001)

Directed by Sean Penn. Starring Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright, Aaron Eckhart, Pauline Roberts, Dale Dickey, Sam Shepard, Tom Noonan, Patricia Clarkson, Helen Mirren, Harry Dean Stanton, Benicio del Toro. [R]

Nicholson’s police detective is on the cusp of retirement when the butchered body of a little girl is discovered, and her mother (Clarkson) coerces him into pledging to not rest until the murderer is brought to justice. Unusual crime drama initially appears to be a procedural, but the screenplay (adapted from a book by Friedrich Dürrenmatt) rarely takes the predictable route, and the film ultimately transforms into a dark character study of a haunted man who can’t find relief. Starts out on shaky ground with a pretentiously moody set-up, a crucifix-borne entreaty to swear upon Nicholson’s “soul salvation” to find the killer that swerves into hysterics, and del Toro’s kitschy portrayal of a mentally-handicapped Indian, but once the film settles into the obsession that overtakes the protagonist, the course is corrected all the way to its remorseless ending. Nicholson is very good in a non-Nicholson role, and he has able support at every turn; in addition to several famous faces found in small roles, a few more make even briefer walk-on appearances, such as Mickey Rourke and Vanessa Redgrave. The story was previously filmed as a German movie in 1958, Es Geschah am Hellichten Tag.

70/100