The Pledge

The Pledge-480P

The Pledge-360P

The Pledge-480P

The Pledge-360P

source: The Pledge

Nice thriller movie. Slow and tense. Only ending could have been better. But it's ok.

Sean Penn puts on a director's hat to make a movie about a retired cop who has made a pledge to find the killer of a little girl. Jack Nicholson stars and brings convincing heavyweight acting abilities to the lead role whilst various other stars decorate the story in small, cameo roles, like confetti. Benicio Del Toro, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Shephard, Harry Dean Stanton and Mickey Rourke all turn in great performances. The pace, style and story, for the most part, all shun commercialism in their approach, yet the end product teeters on being too classy for its own good. After sitting through more than two hours of slowly unfolding story, many audiences will want a bit more of an adrenalin kickback on their investment.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs The Pledge is a really disappointing thriller,with a premise that sounds brilliant,but is really very rambling and confusing.The plot fails to go anywhere,and nothing is satisfactorelly resolved in the end.The one thing that holds the film together undoubtedly is Jack Nicolson's performance.He really carefully conveys his portrayal of a sincere,caring detective well.Otherwise,Sean Penn is an unprofessional director.**

Penn assembled a beautiful film about an ugly subject with Nicholson at the center as a retiring cop who pledges he will find the killer of a mother's young daughter. Artistically and technically excellent, many will find this unpredictable and austere film an unsatisfying watch as it takes too long to tell its simple story and manages only shallow development of the characters and their relationships. Penn seems to get bogged down in the art to the exclusion of what most regard as entertainment. A good watch for realists and film buffs.

I had never heard of The Pledge when it appeared on my cable menu and, after watching it, I know why: It's a stinker of a movie. I watched it because of Jack Nicholson, who did in fact provide the movie's only redeeming trait of a riveting performance, but nonetheless I felt like I had wasted 2 hours when it was over. And for those of you who think "he just doesn't get it" because I missed a scene to go to the bathroom, that's not the case: I watched every scene, I understand the plot, and I can appreciate the tragic irony of the ending. But the movie is still a stinker. I could not recommend The Pledge to anyone.