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THE PLEDGE Send This Review to a Friend
Jack Nicholson gives new meaning to the expression laid back in "The Pledge," director Sean Penn's moody adaptation of a novel by Friedrich Duerrenmatt, scripted by Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski. Cast as newly retired Nevada detective Jerry Black, Nicholson underplays the character as, setting aside his retired status, he becomes dangerously obsessed with solving a brutal child murder that the authorities think has been settled. It is a tribute to Nicholson's immense acting skill that he communicates an emotional volcano ever in danger of erupting beneath the outward façade of calm methodology. Nicholson is the film's prime attraction, and he keeps one riveted on his performance even though the film as a whole leaves a lack of complete satisfaction.
Essentially "The Pledge" is a psychological suspense thriller, but Penn is no Hitchcock. His pretentious style is languid instead of zippy, admittedly with concentration on nature's scenic gifts and use of the settings to highlight the underlying threat of another potential killing. But the technique has the downside of spawning dullness when one yearns for more overt tension and action. The ending, while based on the psychological underpinnings of the story, is gimmicky in its resolution.
However, the film has powerful rewards along the way, as Jerry becomes involved with Lori, a waitress and divorcee who has been battered by her ex-husband. Robin Wright Penn brings realism and warmth to the part as we watch her cautiously ease into happiness with her new-found friend. Jerry also becomes a surrogate father to Lori's young daughter Chrissy, played with innocence and unquestioning affection by pretty Pauline Roberts. The smaller parts are also well cast, with strong turns by Vanessa Redgrave as the grandmother of the murdered child and Benicio Del Toro as the hapless ex-convict thought to have done the killing, Others adding convincing supporting portrayals include Helen Mirren, Lois Smith, Tom Noonan, Sam Shepard and Harry Dean Stanton. Penn was certainly on target with his casting.
Of course, we know that Chrissy is the new child in danger, and the story builds around this situation as Jerry's obsession grows increasingly all-consuming, overtaking his judgment and his sense of responsibility. Whatever you think of the way Penn and the screenwriters handle it all, there's the pleasure of watching Nicholson's acting triumph in a deceptively easygoing but complexly demanding and memorable role. A Warner Brothers release.
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