A Promessa

The Pledge is a....... good movie.

I see how people can dislike it, it is a kind of long movie, and you have to be patient with it. The ending is kind of frustrating to those seeking all the answers, but anyone with a fairly open mind will like it instantly.

The movie was good, I liked it, my mom and my little sister even liked it.

Sean Penn made sure not to try to win over a crown using the generic appeal, sex, gore, et cetera. He was very classy with this movie, good job on his part.

Acting was good throughout the movie, Jack Nicholson did a good job, I especially liked Benicio Del Toro's part, even though it was not too long.

I don't know, pretty much, it's a good movie, nothing out of the ball park. But it is worth the watch.

I am impressed, Sean Penn. Serial killers are always something that intrigue me, but not every movie does a good job with it. The Pledge changed it up a bit where the focus is more on a retiree learning how to deal with getting old. Jack Nicholson continues to show why he is so good in films.

I'm not that crazy about the story, which has been put to film at least twice before. (I think the other movie is The Cold Light of Day.) In the other movie, which was set in one of the Soviet bloc countries, there was also a serial killer after young girls, and the detective makes the morally questionable decision to put a girlfriends daughter unknowingly at risk to use as bait. The swingset for the girl beside the road (where the killer would be sure to see her) was copied over from the novel.

For sheer moviemaking prowess, though, this team of actors and Penn as the director is unbeatable. Every performance comes across with perfect sincerity and you forget you are looking at famous actors. There are some surreal touches as well, when bit players from the early part show up on screen late in the story with non speaking roles.

Four stars. Even if you don't like Jack Nicholson.

Faithful to the book in most regards, the film is excellent, and Nicholson's performance is beyond reproach. While the denouement may have had issues (not with the point or the meaning, but rather the delivery), the film is still outstanding.

Nicholson's relationship with the girl (he is beautiful as an aged father) and his inexorable obsession with the murderer are perfect in the film. Sadly, Penn's pacing is inconsistent, as is the sense of "detective" that Duerenmatt was careful to give his novel: the film's heartbeat ranges from driving to rambling, and most thematically appropriate may have been a measured beat which is lacking here.

Nonetheless, the film is gripping, and captures the point, spirit and feel of the novel perfectly. It may not pull off the trick of being both faithful and profitable, but the film is true, and the acting impeccable.

I had rather low expectations for The Pledge - even though I've admired Penn as an actor (Dead Man Walking, Racing With The Moon, etc.) I really didn't care much for his writing/directing attempts (Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard) so I finally got around to watching this on cable and I was not prepared for how intriguing, intelligent and emotionally powerful the movie was. Yes, obviously, from other people's comments, this isn't every one's cup of tea. Fine. You want quickie thriller, wall to wall action - go watch Con Air or something. Popcorn movies are fine. People need to turn off their brains and escape every now and then (Unfortunately for big budget movies - its more NOW and very rarely THEN)> So that is why I really enjoyed the slow pace and the ambiguity of the plot - it left things out there for you to find, to discover, to ponder. Nicholson - who is so capable of just phoning it in lately or just doing a gig for a paycheck (Anger Management - YIKES!!!) - but here he really delivers a strong, aching performance. He is surrounded by excellent actors (especially Del Toro, Eckhart and a very impressive tiny scene from Mickey Rourke). I know there are huge fans of the German book and the movie - I will seek them out. But I have watched this film twice and it is even more powerful the second time. One CAN be driven mad by NEVER knowing something so ghastly, something so important.