The Horrible
and the Miserable
by Sasha Stone

Sean Penn's The Pledge takes on probably the most unbearable subject of all - children as victims of violent crime. However, this film, adapted from Friedrich Dürrenmatt 's novel by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowksy, doesn't simply use the material as fuel to justify a final killing spree, doing justice where often there is no justice done. Penn uses the material for what it is, an aspect of the human condition that we not only can't bear, but can't control. Here is a meaningful illustration of what happens to people who become consumed with preventing evil, which is as impossible as stopping the ebb and flow of the tide. Moreover, the devotion to fear can damage those closest to you, especially if they're sacrificed to it.

Jack Nicholson plays Jerry, an old cop just a few hours shy of retiring. At his own retirement party, there is a clear sense that he's hesitant to give up his work when he becomes involved in an urgent call - the murder of a young girl. Aaron Eckhart plays the new cop in charge, and agrees to let Jerry handle this one last case.

The crime is so brutal the cops "barely dared to look themselves," and when no cop is willing to tell the parents, Jerry must do it. There are many sequences, filmed beautifully by cinematographer (and director in his own right) Chris Menges, but perhaps the most memorable is the shot of Jerry wading through a massive warehouse that is wall to wall with ogling turkeys - a swaying sea of white feathers. From afar, we see him deliver the news, the dreaded deed of any cop, and the parents' reaction.

Jerry makes a promise to the mother (Patricia Clarkson) that he will find the killer, swearing on his salvation. Even after the cops think they have the killer, a retarded Indian (played to chilling effect by the unrecognizable Benicio Del Toro), Jerry senses the killer is still among them, ready to consume other young girls. After the Indian shoots himself, the case is closed. The cops never bothered to research the case, to check for similar crimes in the area. Jerry asks if they will run a check, just as a favor to him. When he finds evidence of similar crimes, a pattern develops. Jerry then does not retire, rather he retires into this case.

It's worth noting that the scene between Benicio Del Toro and Aaron Eckhart, who is squeezing the confession out of him, is probably the best bit of acting I've seen in a long while. Del Toro takes his character deeper than humanly possible, it seems, and Eckhart does something totally unexpected - he seduces him. After this scene, one presumes the film can never quite match that level of intensity, but Sean Penn's movies are actor/acting-centered. He waits for his actors to discover and uncover themselves. There will be more scenes that match the intensity and they will be delivered by greats - Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton and a scene with Mickey Rourke that reminds us he was good once, really good.

Penn is among the handful of directors who get the best actors to work for scale, just for the opportunity to work with him - Woody Allen is one, David Mamet is another. Actors must like working with him either because they know him or because they know he will treat them right.

Anchoring the film, and delivering his best work in years (he's not just phoning this one in), is Jack Nicholson, who becomes so obsessed with the crime that his life disappears out from underneath him, despite finding real love with Robin Wright Penn and her daughter. Watching Nicholson in the calm and quiet of his performance is like watching a lake in a morning, when its surface can change with the drop of a leaf. He is revealed as a human being - not a star - you see the double chin, the sad, sagging eyes; he's finally an old man.

The Pledge has a similar feel to Atom Egoyan's exceptional The Sweet Hereafter, which also dealt with the death of children and the pain of parents amid a vast, lonely landscape. Penn is wise to stay with the actors, because sometimes the story feels unreal - particularly as the cops write off Jerry's assertions that the killer is still on the loose. There are moments where the film feels like the director is still green, not quite seasoned enough to know when to edit out unnecessary scenes. However, most will be so wrapped up in the characters they won't notice. In fact, The Pledge is Penn's best film to date. He'll only get better as a director. Count on it.

Sean Penn has said that he doesn't like most Hollywood films because they give "all the answers" to the audience, while he admits he doesn't have the answers. He's right; most films help us out of the unrelenting horror that exists out there by giving us a chicken exit to life. However, there is room for all kinds of films - the ones that bring us joy, and the ones like The Pledge that press into us in places we least expect.

CineScene, 2001