Review of The Pledge (2001) by Filipeneto — 02 May 2022

This movie is very indigestible and hard to see, as it brings us a heavy story with very intense themes, as well as a powerful interpretation of Jack Nicholson. The movie is intense, visual, brutal and can sometimes shock the most sensitive.

The script is based on a book, which in turn was based, very slightly, in real cases of murder. The film begins with the retirement of Jerry Black, a police officer who is leaving the force. It turns out that, in his last case, the rape and murder of a young girl, he is led to solemnly promise that he will find the culprit, in an effort that he will really take seriously as he seems increasingly evident that he will not accept its own retirement without solving this crime.

The movie is slow, and the audience is led to really like and import with the characters, in particular with the children, which can be a torture for the most sensitive people, who will feel the danger around them more intensely, and the anguish of that man, who transforms his life to investigate, at his own risk, those crimes. Faced with all this, the end of the movie works almost like a punch in our stomach, an interrupted intercourse that makes us deeply dissatisfied and vaguely annoyed. That's why I don't give this movie a higher grade.

I must recognize the performance value of Jack Nicholson, an exceptionally capable actor for obsessive, maniac or depressive characters. Patrícia Clarkson and Aaron Eckart also close very well and give the public a very good job. Helen Mirren appears for a short time, but is also excellent, and Benício Del Toro, responsible for one of the most visually remarkable scenes in the movie, deserves congratulations.

Technically, the film has a good cinematography and a satisfactory edition, although an exasperating pace, slower than a walk in the park, but it seems to me to have been chosen precisely to allow a greater relationship of sympathy between audiences and characters (And if that was the case, it was a smart move, and it worked well). The film has good scenarios and a good set of costumes, but it is the soundtrack that deserves applause, as is the visual and sound effects.