Those looking for action, gunfire and a cheerful, emotionally-satisfying conclusion had best look elsewhere. 'The Pledge (2001),' Sean Penn's third film as director, is a brutal and uncompromising character study of a retired detective's slow and steady spiral into madness, driven to the brink of sanity by his obsession with catching an invisible killer. Following the rape and murder of a young girl, Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) promises a distraught mother that he will bring her daughter's murderer to justice. A mentally-challenged American Indian (Benicio Del Toro), who was witnessed at the scene of the crime, is arrested, driven to a confession and subsequently commits suicide, leading to the closure of the case. However, Jerry comes to believe that the killer was somebody else a tall man who called himself The Wizard and lured young girls with chocolate hedgehogs. Believing that the murderer will strike again, Jerry makes a new life for himself alongside a lake and waits patiently for signs of The Wizard's return, in the meantime striking up a friendship with a single mother, Lori (Robin Wright Penn), and her eight-year-old daughter, Chrissy (Pauline Roberts).
Though the identity of the killer proves not quite as important as Jerry's psychological deterioration, the story throws countless red herrings to put the viewer off guard. Tom Noonan, best-remembered as Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann's 'Manhunter (1986),' would seem the obvious choice for the killer, and we witness more than a few unlikely coincidences that would place his character well within suspicion. Rather than allowing the actual murderer to be brought to justice, the story takes a shocking turn when he is killed in a car accident, the truth behind his crimes completely unknown. In the final moments of the film, the characters are offered various lifelines that they fail to grasp: will Jerry abandon his pledge to protect the young girl to whom he has become a father? Will Detective Stan Krolak (Aaron Eckhart) recognise the black sedan blazing on the roadside? Will Jerry ever be acknowledged for the truth behind his unlikely hunch, or will his former colleagues continue to believe that he has lost his mind?
'The Pledge' was adapted from Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1958 novel, "Das Versprechen," which was an altered version of his previous screenplay "Es geschah am hellichten Tag / It Happened in Broad Daylight," upon which a critically-acclaimed 1958 film was based. Jack Nicholson has a welcome return to form with his portrayal of a hardened but emotionally-vulnerable character, and the supporting players complement his performance well. Though his efforts have indirectly caused the death of the perpetrator, Jerry is completely oblivious to this. Having severed his close friendship with Lori after placing Chrissy's life in unnecessary danger, we find and leave him a drunken, muttering wreck of a man, forever condemned to live in the shadow of his broken promise. There are not many Hollywood directors daring enough to cut to the credits on such a downbeat note, but sometimes we've just got to realise that, in real life, a happy ending is not always a certainty.
Though the identity of the killer proves not quite as important as Jerry's psychological deterioration, the story throws countless red herrings to put the viewer off guard. Tom Noonan, best-remembered as Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann's 'Manhunter (1986),' would seem the obvious choice for the killer, and we witness more than a few unlikely coincidences that would place his character well within suspicion. Rather than allowing the actual murderer to be brought to justice, the story takes a shocking turn when he is killed in a car accident, the truth behind his crimes completely unknown. In the final moments of the film, the characters are offered various lifelines that they fail to grasp: will Jerry abandon his pledge to protect the young girl to whom he has become a father? Will Detective Stan Krolak (Aaron Eckhart) recognise the black sedan blazing on the roadside? Will Jerry ever be acknowledged for the truth behind his unlikely hunch, or will his former colleagues continue to believe that he has lost his mind?
'The Pledge' was adapted from Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1958 novel, "Das Versprechen," which was an altered version of his previous screenplay "Es geschah am hellichten Tag / It Happened in Broad Daylight," upon which a critically-acclaimed 1958 film was based. Jack Nicholson has a welcome return to form with his portrayal of a hardened but emotionally-vulnerable character, and the supporting players complement his performance well. Though his efforts have indirectly caused the death of the perpetrator, Jerry is completely oblivious to this. Having severed his close friendship with Lori after placing Chrissy's life in unnecessary danger, we find and leave him a drunken, muttering wreck of a man, forever condemned to live in the shadow of his broken promise. There are not many Hollywood directors daring enough to cut to the credits on such a downbeat note, but sometimes we've just got to realise that, in real life, a happy ending is not always a certainty.