THE PLEDGE
Year: 2001
USA & UK: Warner Bros
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Patricia Clarkson, Benicio Del Toro, Dale Dickey, Aaron Eckhart, Costas Mandylor, Helen Mirren, Tom Noonan, Michael O'Keefe, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Pauline Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Lois Smith, Harry Dean Stanton, Brock Johnson, Peter Madsen, Gordon May, Eileen Ryan, Brittany Tiplady
Director: Sean Penn
Country: USA
USA: 124 mins
UK: 123 mins
USA Rated: R for strong violence and language
UK Certificate: 15 contains infrequent strong language and crime scene horror
USA Release Date: 19 January 2001
UK Release Date: 12 October 2001
Synopsis
A detective grappling with retirement. A tragic crime. A life-changing promise.
On the day of his retirement, Nevada homicide detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) lingers in his office one last time before putting on a brave face at the surprise party thrown in his honor. Humbled by the generosity of his colleagues, Jerry accepts their gift - an airline ticket for his dream fishing trip to Mexico - with grace. But when the body of a murdered eight-year-old girl is discovered in the snow-blanketed mountains, the reluctant retiree is unable to step aside. Jerry offers his expertise at the crime scene, and takes it upon himself to deliver the devastating news to the victim's parents.
The grieving mother (Patricia Clarkson) begs Jerry for answers. Faced with the tragic nature of the crime, the parents' suffering and his own uncertainty about life after the police force, Jerry swears on his soul to find the killer.
When an ambitious younger cop wrenches a dubious confession from a simple-minded suspect, the case is closed... but not for Jerry. Despite the scepticism of his peers, Jerry follows his hunch that the real killer is still at large and set to strike again.
But how far will Jerry go to fulfil his promise? And at what cost?
The film is directed by Sean Penn from a screenplay by Jerzy Kromolowski & Mary Olson-Kromoloski, based on the novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt. The score is written by Hans Zimmer (GLADIATOR) and Klaus Badelt (GLADIATOR).
