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Movies / Upcoming / The Pledge
The Pledge

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The Pledge (2001)

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Reviews Counted:117

Fresh:90

Rotten:27

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Though its subject matter is grim and may make viewers queasy, The Pledge features an excellent, subtle performance by Jack Nicholson.

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $18,894,185

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.... 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. [More]

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio Del Toro

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio Del Toro, Dale Dickey, Aaron Eckhart, Costas Mandylor, Helen Mirren, Tom Noonan, Michael O'Keefe, Pauline Roberts, Vanessa Redgrave, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Lois Smith, Harry Dean Stanton

Director: Sean Penn

Director: Sean Penn
Screenwriter: Jerzy Kromolowski, Mary Olson-Kromolowski
Producer: Michael Fitzgerald, Sean Penn, Elie Samaha
Composer: Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Pledge

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Emotionally powerful film of rare and grave subtlety.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Susannah Breslin
Susannah Breslin
Film Threat

Mystery-thriller buffs, promise yourselves that you'll see The Pledge. And while you're at it, be sure to invite along Jack Nicholson fans and anyone who saw the first two movies that Sean Penn directed.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The problem is Nicholson. He sleepwalks through the part in a cloud of ubiquitous cigarette smoke, stiff, uncomfortable, and looking like he wishes he'd never signed that contract.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/21/02
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Penn can't be faulted for his work with the actors. Most of the featured players have only a scene or two, but they're indelible.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
09/26/02
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine

Carnadas humanas, una historia obsesiva, y un tono lírico tremendo... grata combinación que transforma una historia policíaca en algo humano, vivo y enteramente emocional.

Full Review Source: Cinenganos | comment Comment
09/15/02
Alex Ramirez
Alex Ramirez
Cinenganos
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/02/02
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Penn's task is well-served not only by a superb cast but the efforts of first-rate collaborators.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

Steeped in an almost unbearable sadness, dense with moral ambiguity it stubbornly withholds comfort at every startling turn.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
06/05/02
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

Ultimately, the payoffs just aren't there, either psychologically or dramatically.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

Never less than respectable.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
03/07/02
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

The film's stately pace emphasizes Jerry's slow transformation, and there are a number of wonderful scenes, both visually and structurally.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
02/28/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Jack the character actor is back, and it’s been well worth the wait.

Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
02/26/02
Mark Dujsik
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies

While some developments are generally predictable, the movie ends up taking us on a thematic journey that is unexpected and shattering.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
02/17/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

A surreal journey through a contorted, mundane American heartland. Del Toro shatters as a Native American victim of provincial racial profiling.

Full Review Source: WBAI Web Radio | comment Comment
12/25/01
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
WBAI Web Radio
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/30/01
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As a crime story, it would be engaging enough on its own, but it gains it true strength in the measured and disciplined study of its protagonist.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment Comment
10/24/01
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

As enthralling as it sometimes is, there isn't any point to the relentless grimness.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
10/12/01
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Pledge

January 11, 2009: JackNicholson.org: The Jack Nicholson Pledge Interview: Breaking His Own Embargo On Letting it All Hang Out Opens in new window
More...

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