The Pledge

2001 • 123 minutes

About this movie

Oscar winner Jack Nicholson ("As Good As it Gets," "A Few Good Men"), John Malkovich ("Being John Malkovich") and Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy winner Vanessa Redgrave ("Mission: Impossible") star in this tense '50s crime drama. Based on the acclaimed novel by Swiss author Friedrich Durrenmatt. Co-starring Oscar-nominated Sam Shepard ("The Right Stuff"), Golden Globe nominee Robin Wright Penn ("Forrest Gump"), Costas Mandylor ("Picket Fences") and Harry Dean Stanton ("The Green Mile"). Directed by Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Sean Penn ("Dead Man Walking"). MPAA Rating: R © 2001 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Ratings and reviews

An enjoyable yarn but a missed opportunity to develop a meatier edge. A cop on the brink of retiring. Serial killer strikes. Body of a young girl found. He can't leave it alone as he's promised her mum that he'll find the killer, so continues to investigate. Which then brings us to middle-of-the-film where he happens upon another little girl and a needy mum, who he takes under his wing. Which then just happens to be the next family to fall prey to the killer. So we then have this family-unit building phase while he continued to dig. Jack Nicholson of course is not stretched in any way in the process and Vanessa Redgrave pops up for a cameo. But this was an opportunity to develop the story of the serial killer, not taken. Suggestions along the way that actually it's less complicated, it's a result of mental illness, as in A Beautiful Mind. My final concern was the speed at which apparent mental illness took hold. It seemed to be one minute sane, the next minute lost-it. There's a nod in the closing scene to the same in The Shining.

Jack Nicholson plays a retired cop who is trying to find a child killer. A superb mystery thriller. It keeps you questioning things even after the end.

Why would no one believes a highly decorated cop of over 20 years? Stupid premise and highly disappointing!