Other Titles • The Pledge • Das Versprechen (2001)
Synopses for The Pledge (2001)
1.
Jack Nicholson is detective Jerry Black, a respected and well-liked veteran of the Reno police force retiring to a life of angling with more than a little apprehension. Thus he jumps into a murder case, the slaying of a little girl, a mere six hours from retirement and makes a promise to the grieving mother to catch the killer. As his partner (an effectively abrasive Aaron Eckhart) squeezes a confession out of the severely mentally handicapped suspect (a thoroughly unsettling performance by Benicio Del Toro), Jerry is convinced that they've got the wrong man.
As in Sean Penn's previous work, this is an actors' piece. Nicholson plays Jerry with restlessness under his easy-going, smiling calm; his patient fisherman's heart leaps at every nibble while he casts for a murder suspect. And Del Toro, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave, and Mickey Rourke make striking impressions in their single-scene appearances. Penn is less concerned with the mystery than the emotional turmoil and Jerry's state of mind, interrupting moments of calm with jagged cuts and discomforting images (including some especially disturbing crime scene photos). Jerry's instincts and methods are sound and his sensitivity is real--he takes in a battered single mom (Robin Wright Penn) and her little girl, and develops a rewarding family life--but his passion for justice turns to unhealthy, destructive obsession. That's ultimately what we're left with at the conclusion of this often off-putting but ultimately fascinating film. The truth will not always set you free. --Sean Axmaker
2.
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.
3.
On the day of his retirement, Nevada homicide detective Jerry Black (JACK NICHOLSON) lingers in his office one last time before putting on a brave face at the surprise party thrown in his honor. Humbled by the generosity of his colleagues, Jerry accepts their gift — an airline ticket for his dream fishing trip to Mexico with grace. But when the body of a murdered eight-year-old girl is discovered in the snow-blanketed mountains, the reluctant retiree is unable to step aside. Jerry offers his expertise at the crime scene, and takes it upon himself to deliver the devastating news to the victim's parents.
The grieving mother begs Jerry for answers. Faced with the tragic nature of the crime, the parents' suffering and his own uncertainty about life after the police force, Jerry swears on his soul to find the killer.
When an ambitious younger cop wrenches a dubious confession from a simple minded suspect, the case is closed... but not for Jerry. Despite the skepticism of his peers, Jerry follows his hunch that the real killer is still at large and set to strike again.
But how far will Jerry go to fulfill his promise? And at what cost?
4.
The suspect confessed to the murder, then took his own life. Case closed? Not for the homicide cop Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson). He has his own instincts about the crime. And even though he's ready to begin a gone-fishin' retirement, he promised the victim's family he'd find the killer.
Jack Nicholson (as Jerry) heads an all-star cast (Robin Wright Penn, Aaron Eckhart, Benicio Del Toro and more) in the gripping tale of a detective, driven to seek the truth…and driven into the darker reaches of his own mind by obsession. Sean Penn (who previously guided Nicholson in "The Crossing Guard") directs, shaping sharp portrayals, crisp detail and a mounting sense of dread into a thriller both unconventional and unforgettable.
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