The Pledge (2001) Critic Reviews

In its dark, relentless, devastatingly ironic way, The Pledge is an exhilarating movie, partly because it isn't afraid to be genuinely challenging.Read the full review

Penn and Nicholson take risks with the material and elevate the movie to another, unanticipated, haunting level.Read the full review

In crafting a fierce, fragmented, downbeat film about a character who makes the wrong decision as a man by being right as a cop, Penn flies in the face of what sells in Hollywood. Godspeed.Read the full review

Nicholson is outstanding as he gradually but tellingly sketches in aspects of a man driven by a mission that outstrips his instincts as a professional lawman.Read the full review

Not a pleasant film, but it is deeply, scarily rewarding.Read the full review

Sets off depth charges of the psyche.Read the full review

The movie wouldn't be imaginable without its commanding star. Nicholson is in virtually every scene underplaying to great effectRead the full review

Penn is a true talent, but there's just enough languid pretension to The Pledge to make you wonder if he's ultimately more interested in parading his promise as a director than in fulfilling it.Read the full review

Fitfully haunting and impressive: a little less loitery and opaque and it might have been a classic.Read the full review