Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14761 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-15
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
• Dubbed in: French, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 119 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Pledge is the latest offering from Sean Penn, and as in Crossing Guard he chooses Jack Nicholson as his leading man. 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 with Sean Penn's previous work, this is an actors' piece. Nicholson plays Jerry as having a restlessness under his easy-going, smiling calm 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, Amazon.com

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\German
English\German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English French German
Dolby Digital 5.1
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Trailer
Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\French\German\Icelandic\Norwegian\Swedish

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

A largely unrecognized masterpiece
It's slowly picking up more fame with the passing of time, this film, it seems, but its release passed me by and I, like many others was recommended this by a video guide. It was one of the best rentals I've ever had, and at this price this film is a must if you like good thrillers, good cinematic films, and of course good acting. I was just a little wary about Penn directing, as the only other Penn made movie I know I'd seen before this was a little heavy and demanding. He does actually have quite a heavy or obtrusive directing style, and reminds me a lot of Boorman in many ways, but in this picture definitely, he portrays deft touches as well as the great cinematic presence and style.

Then we get on to casting. Sometimes these days, Nicholson turns up to act, and sometimes he turns up just to take the money AND add money to the picture by being Jack. But when he takes on a role for professional reasons and really respects the script and loves the character, he acts...REALLY acts. This performance should have got him yet another oscar nomination at the very least. There are just so few actors who have the ability to portray such painfully human characters like this actor. He is a never ending sensation.

Nicholsons' best performance?
...I'll say it again-To me, this is the first time, Jack Nicholson did more than just entertain.
About Schmidt, to me, was in a similar league and when he flew over the cuckoo's nest, I felt pretty much the same, but this time I feel there is even more depth to his character.
I was quite surprised when I saw this film for the first time.
The photography is rather well, and I would say the same about the casting and direction.
The soundtrack music is just right in that it underpins he conflict ,undergone by the main protagonist.
Whilst I recommend this film to anyone who'll listen to me, I also point them towards the german original "Es geschah am hellichten Tag ( 1958)".
I n this remake however, the ending was realized as intended by the author whereas the german version's ending was reputedly changed to make it a little more paletable.

One of the best films I've seen
I've never written a film review before. Always been afraid of saying something that would give the game away for those who haven't seen the film yet, but may want to. This film showed Jack Nicholson in all his brilliance - quite my favourite actor - but after the film had ended, indeed, as some have suggested, rather abruptly, I pondered over all the threads for ages. The doctor, and her insistent question to Jerry, whether he was still sexually active. You can tell what SHE was thinking! And Jerry's failure to answer spoke volumes, as if he didn't want to face up to his darkest thoughts.

Of course, one has to suspend belief somewhat, well, quite a lot, when watching the film as it nears the end. I do not believe any police department would allow a little girl to be placed in so much potential danger as was depicted. Also, I don't believe that any ex-cop would just be able to assert his influence and practically take control of proceedings like Jerry seemed to be able to do with impunity. Another theme was just how far will the police go - in this case, using a little child as bait in a trap - to "get their man"?

The ending was amazing. The pledge was fulfilled, as far as the parents of the first child knew. The cops were convinced right up to the final scenes that Jerry had become a nutcase and they had already got their man. The character, Toby, shot himself obviously for some other crime the police didn't know about and didn't investigate, and the young mother who befriended Jerry would continue the rest of her life in the certain knowledge that he was a rogue and a pervert. Maybe only Harry Dean Stanton and daughter were glad to get shot of the place. They were well out of it!