The Pledge

Sean Penn’s third film behind the camera (The Indian runner, The Crossing guard) sees Jack Nicholson reprising his role as a man intent on keeping his word, in this case a promise to the mother of a murder victim to locate her daughter’s killer. Jerry Black (Nicholson) is about to retire when he becomes involved in one last case. The victim is a young girl found murdered in the snow, wearing a red dress and with suspected sexual interference. A witness identifies a man fleeing from the crime and is brought in, confessing before committing suicide. Black believes the girl is the victim of a serial killer and pledges to her mother that he will ensure the perpetrator is found. Continuing his retirement, Black purchases a petrol station in the mountains and begins a relationship with a single mother who has a daughter who fits the profile of the elusive killer that Black begins to call “The Giant”. There is an ensemble cast including Aaron Eckhart, Benicio Del Toro, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Mickey Rourke and Harry Dean Stanton, however the film is all Nicholson’s as the obsessive, cautious protagonist who may or may not be pursuing a figment of his own imagination. Based on the book by Friedrich Durrenmatt.