Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Sam Shepard, Aaron Eckhart
Featured attraction
STARS "1"
Having promised the grieving mother of a molested and murdered little girl that he will find her child's killer, a veteran Reno homicide police detective (Nicholson) doggedly pursues leads more than a year after he has retired from the force.
Directed with quiet flair by Sean Penn, The Pledge is an engrossing psychological case study of a man obsessed with finding answers where none may exist. This is not a film in which the pieces fit together neatly at the end, which is exactly the point. Nicholson, who has been coasting on his wily, wild-eyed Jackness in recent roles, here gives a terrific, subtle performance as a man unable to let go. Equally fine is Wright Penn as a cafe waitress whom he helps. (R)
Bottom Line: A Pledge worth taking
Your Reaction
