Jack Nicholson's Best Performance Came In This Overlooked Crime Thriller That Still Holds Up Today
by Joe Roberts · /FilmI still don't think we've come to terms with just how big a loss we took when Jack Nicholson left Hollywood after 2010's "How Do You Know." The man is the definition of a living legend, and despite his reputation for playing devilish rogues he had considerable range. When we got a subdued Nicholson performance, it was a real treat, and 2001's "The Pledge" is the perfect example. Not only did the actor deliver a wonderfully subtle performance in this oft-overlooked crime thriller; according to Roger Ebert, he gave the "finest performance" of his career. Happily, it still holds up more than two decades later.
In 2001, Nicholson had taken a long break following his lead performance in what remains one of the great romantic comedies, "As Good as it Gets." Another example of the star's range: that 1997 James L. Brooks rom-com saw Nicholson portray an obsessive, misanthropic novelist who ultimately discovers love through Helen Hunt's down-to-earth waitress. The star then waited four years before delivering something as far removed from Brooks' delightfully witty romance as possible.
"The Pledge" was directed by Sean Penn, who ultimately crafted a haunting portrait of a man struggling to hold on to the last scraps of a life that gave him some semblance of an identity. Nicholson plays a Reno, Nevada detective on the verge of retirement who's drawn into a new case on the night of his retirement party. Sadly, the film made just $29.4 million on a $37 million budget and failed to make much of an impression on audiences. The critics seemed to like it well enough, however, especially Ebert, who ultimately bestowed a perfect four stars on the film. But that's just one reason to revisit this underseen early-aughts gem.
The Pledge is a weird and uncanny film in the best way possible
"The Pledge" should be on most lists of the best detective movies but is often neglected, perhaps because it's a truly weird film. But it's weird in the most interesting way possible. So much of "The Pledge" feels incongruous and even uncanny. Take the opening scenes, in which a young girl is found murdered in the wintry landscape of northern Nevada. She's discovered by a young boy, and for some reason Sean Penn decides to use multiple crash zooms to emphasize the poor lad's shock in a moment that seems almost parodic.
Likewise, Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt's score often feels needlessly intrusive and unsuitable for the scenes it accompanies. Ultimately, none of these odd moments detract from the film's effectiveness. In fact, as the story continues, they reveal themselves to be subtle aids in establishing "The Pledge" as an atypical crime thriller. Indeed, by the time Penn's film reaches its third act, it becomes something else entirely.
Following the murder of young Ginny Larsen, Jack Nicholson's Jerry Black promises the girl's parents that he'll find the killer. After the intellectually challenged Toby Jay Wadenah (Benicio del Toro in a standout cameo) is arrested for the crime, Aaron Eckhart's Detective Stan Krolak forces a confession. But Black remains unconvinced, and becomes obsessed with the case. What follows is two acts of what seems like a fairly straightforward if well-made procedural. But the third act is where things really change, and we realize just how much Black has allowed the case to absorb his existence. It all leads to one of the most devastatingly bleak endings yet put to film.
The Pledge deserves more attention and not just because of Jack Nicholson's performance
After "The Pledge" and 2002's "About Schmidt," Jack Nicholson consciously pivoted to comedy, once again demonstrating his range by starring in the criminally underrated "Anger Management" and "Something's Gotta Give." Meanwhile, "The Pledge" faded into obscurity, which is a real shame because it's an extremely effective crime thriller that remains compelling throughout, even when it takes unlikely turns.
Roger Ebert certainly thought so. The critic wrote that "The Pledge" "may be Nicholson's finest performance," and praised the actor for his restraint. "Here are none of the familiar signals of his more popular performances," wrote Ebert. "None of the relish of characterization, none of the sardonic remove. We see a lonely man, aging, whose attempts to go through the motions of retirement fail." He wasn't the only critic impressed by Sean Penn's film, either. Richard Kelly of Sight & Sound described the movie as "an elegant rejoinder to a tired genre" while The Boston Globe's Jay Carr hailed it as an "exhilarating movie, partly because it isn't afraid to be genuinely challenging."
It's a testament to the movie's quality that it still feels challenging today. "The Pledge" is not your standard crime thriller and is truly unique in how it slowly reveals itself as something more nuanced and character-focused. Surprisingly gripping moments punctuate the film, keeping you constantly questioning what you're witnessing. At one point, for example, Mickey Rourke shows up for a scene that lasts less than five minutes but allows Rourke to arguably steal the entire movie. By the time it all comes to a close, you're as obsessed with figuring out what you just saw as Jerry Black was with his unsolved case.