Pledge showcases talents

Jack Nicholson returns to his obsessive roots in the film The Pledge. Nicholson stars as retiring police detective Jerry Black in the film, which is directed by Sean Penn and based on the book by Friedrich Durrenmatt. At Black's retirement party, a homicide call comes in about a young girl that has been brutally raped. In a dramatic event, Black ends up pledging to the girl's mother that he himself will find the killer. The only clue he has is in the 9-year-old's drawing of her giant friend, whom she calls the Wizard. When the only suspect confesses, former colleagues on the force start turning Black away and calling him crazy because he is unable to accept the easy answer. Black's suspicions are garnered by the fact that the accused man is mentally challenged. In his obsession to fulfill his promise, Black moves into the area where the murder took place, meeting an abused waitress (played by Robin Wright Penn and her 8-year-old girl. Black notices the little girl's likeness to the original victim, and proceeds to watch her. How far do you go to satisfy your perception? The former detective endangers innocent people in his game, having no doubt that he can catch the Wizard. Audience members continually question the sanity of the main character. Does the murderer exist? This film is a true visage of a man obsessed. Sean Penn made his directional debut in 1991 with The Indian Runner, a low-profile film. Another film entitled The Crossing Guard, starring Jack Nicholson, was also directed by Penn, and serves as a tie between the two in The Pledge. The suspense in this film is like no other, not to mention the obvious moral. Nicholson plays his character with the needed driving enthusiasm to concoct a believable entity. With Penn's directing and Nicholson interaction, the audience is kept interested until the most climatic moments. Nicholson gives the most chilling performance role since his eerie character in The Shining, and this looks like Penn's best direction to date. The Pledge is now playing at the Carmike Wynnsong 16, Cinemark Tinseltown USA and the Regal Knoxville Center 10. Rating: A-