The Pledge (The Pledge (DVD))

Member Name: fizzle

Product:	The Pledge (DVD)
Date:	05/11/01 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting suspense thriller. Great atmosphere and superb acting.

Disadvantages: Some might find it too slow moving and uneventful.

Released earlier this month, I saw this film at the cinema a few weeks ago and was completely haunted by it. My boyfriend saw the film with me and as he’s also a rather avid dooyooer I thought I’d get in quick and review it first.


The Pledge

The Pledge is Sean Penn’s third directorial foray (The Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard are its predecessors - but I’m afraid I haven’t seen either of them yet). The film is based on a short novel by Fredrich Durrenmatt and it’s a moody suspense thriller telling the tale of ageing detective Jerry Black, who is on the trail of a child killer.

Plot

It’s Black’s last day on the job, indeed he’s even in the midst of his retirement party, when he goes out on one last case. It’s a tragic and sickening crime - a young seven year old girl has been found savagely raped and murdered, deep in the snow swept countryside. Black makes a solemn promise to the girl’s parents that he will find the murderer. This promise is to be the driving force throughout the film.

Dissatisfied with the convenient Native American scapegoat (Benicio Del Toro) who his bullish predecessor has fingered for the crime, Black decides to take matters into his own hands. Even though he moves out to a new town, buys a run down garage and strikes up a relationship with a local waitress (Robin Wright Penn)and her young daughter he cannot escape the promise he has made.

Cast

The main role is played superbly by Jack Nicholson. His performance has been hailed by the critics as a veritable tour de force. The focus of the film is as much about Jerry’s psychological obsession and increasingly fragile rationality as it is about catching a killer. Nicholson gives a highly controlled and compelling performance. Although ultimately regarded as Nicholson’s film, Nicholson is ably supported by an impressive cast including the lik
es of Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave, Mickey Rourke and Harry Dean Stanton.

Style

One of the striking features of the film is the incredible sense of atmosphere. Credit has to go to the wonderful cinematography of Chris Menges (The Killing Fields, Michael Collins). This film is beautifully shot. Menges perfectly captures the spirit of the place, the silently deserted snowscapes, mountainous skylines, clear autumnal lakes and small town life in Reno. The musical score by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt is also wonderfully haunting and evocative. Particularly the scenes where we see Jerry idyllically fishing on the lakes. The film creates a sense of stillness and calm which is interspersed with jarring moments of portending fear: the squawk of crows, the loud music of a garish street carnival.

The sense of atmosphere is also built up by the pacing of the film. I cannot stress enough that this is a slow moving film. Those expecting big action will be highly disappointed. I didn’t find this a problem. I thought the slow pacing helped to build up an incredibly tense atmosphere. I had a highly uneasy feeling of impending tragedy throughout the film. It’s as though you are just waiting for your worst fears to be realised. There is the discovery of a murder at the beginning of the film and you are left impotently waiting for the killer to strike again. You can’t help but share in Jerry’s increasing paranoia.

Conclusion

The ending of the film seems to have been both lauded and lamented by critics. Penn has avoided a feel good conventional ending but some might argue that the ending leaves too many strands untied and questions unanswered. There is also the fact that there is no neat moral conclusion - I’ve read criticisms that the film lacks a moral core. Personally I didn’t have any complaints about the ending. It was an ending which left me thinking long after I had left the cinema which is al
ways a good thing. I didn’t feel that it was a let down or a cop out. I don’t want to say too much more about how the film ends because I don’t want to ruin anything.

Sean Penn has created a moody and brooding film. It’s definitely a character piece rather than your classic Hollywood crime thriller. I’m sure there are going to be many people out there who will hate this film, finding it boring and slow. However I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes subtle and controlled films, with an emphasis on emotional and psychological drama rather than action. The film throws up interesting issues regarding obsession, the morality of keeping a promise however destructive it proves to be, the innocence of childhood and the difficulties in protecting this innocence from external evils.

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