Nicholson gives strong performance to beat typical cop film rap

  Franchise Pictures (Left to right) Patrica
Clarkson, Michael O’Keefe and
Jack Nicholson star in the Morgan Creek production
"The Pledge."

By Ryan Joe
Daily Bruin Contributor

As Roger Ebert points out, the “A Cop With A Theory No One
Believes In” is just one of many hackneyed plots Hollywood
executives crank out from their assembly lines.

And so “The Pledge,” directed by Sean Penn, opens,
with Jack Nicholson playing the determined detective Jerry Black
during his last few days on the beat. His retirement party is
interrupted by the discovery of a dead girl ““ raped, murdered
and left in the snow. The newly-retired Jerry ends up promising the
girl’s grieving mother that the killer will be found.

This pledge sets Jerry off on a mad trek to locate the murderer.
And it is this disturbing journey, eerily and subtly depicted by
Nicholson that sets this thriller apart from the rest ““ it is
not so much a thriller as it is a profile of a fragmented
psyche.

“The Pledge” is not a cut-and-dry film, however, nor
is it an ABC-structured cop and killer plot.

A mentally-challenged Native American named Toby (Benicio Del
Toro) admits to the murder of the girl, under the brow-beating
interrogation of a detective (Aaron Eckhart), then, in a startling
moment, Toby kills himself. Mystery solved.

Jerry, however, thinks otherwise. Mechanically following the
routines of the job, he drags through the case, despite his
upcoming retirement.

Jerry researches previous killings with similar MO’s while
his colleagues believe he’s become unhinged.

There are masterful hints that Jerry’s motivations may not
be to bring the killer to justice, but to sate his own raw
obsession with the case. The screenplay toys with the possibility
of Jerry having a troubled past but, appropriately, never develops
it. “The Pledge” is a film that deals not with the
demons of history, but mindless, almost automated compulsion.

Jerry purchases a gas station in between the cite of two
previous murders, a strange maneuver indicative of his gross
persistence: he knows the killer will show up some time.

While living there, he meets Lori (Robin Wright Penn) and her
daughter ““ a young girl whose characteristics match those of
the murder victims, and it becomes clear that she may be the next
victim.

Lori and her daughter form an attachment to Jerry. This is
exemplified in a tender scene when Jerry shelters Lori after a
violent fiasco involving her ex-husband. Jerry and Lori fall in
love, and it is at this point that the film descends into
entropy.

Jerry and the young girl form a father-daughter relationship.
And yet it is Jerry’s promise, his undying and obsessive will
to capture the killer that is foremost on his mind. There is a
subtlety in Jerry’s actions, as they become less rational and
more dangerous.

In one scene, Jerry sets up a play-set in his front yard for the
girl so he can watch her. But is her safety his primary concern or
is she bait for the killer?

As the details unfold, “The Pledge” becomes a rare
and uncomfortable viewing experience. Though the climax and
repercussions may be expected, they are emotionally forceful and
tragic. The film ends not so much with a bang, but a depressed and
mournful sigh.

“The Pledge” is not unlike Atom Egoyan’s
“The Sweet Hereafter,” in which a dogged lawyer
investigates a tragic bus accident. In both films the tragedy and
investigation serve only as a backdrop to the real story.

The thriller aspect of “The Pledge” is merely the
canvas used to paint the dark and dizzying portrait of
Jerry’s obsessive personality.

The film is immensely successful in evoking Jerry’s bleak
conviction. Nicholson’s performance as a man on the fringes
of self-destruction is both subtle and nuanced.

Penn seems to have a knack for directing the material: at times,
scenes seem to recall the snow-chapped landscapes of
“Fargo” or “A Simple Plan.” Even during
Jerry’s supposedly relaxed retirement, dark mountains seem to
engulf the screen and the sky is awash with gray tones.

“The Pledge” is based on the novel by Friedrich
Durrenmatt, who seems to revel in creating characters hopelessly
doomed and alienated in their environments.

Yet from the beginning of the film, this is not evident. The
film begins routinely and swiftly collapses into a journey toward
insanity.

FILM: “The Pledge” is now playing
in theaters nationwide.