The Pledge (2001)

A retiring police chief pledges to catch the killer of a young child.

Director:

Sean Penn

Writers:

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (book), Jerzy Kromolowski (screenplay),

Stars:

Patricia Clarkson, Beau Daniels, Benicio Del Toro

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patricia Clarkson	...	Margaret Larsen
Beau Daniels	...	Rudy
Benicio Del Toro	...	Toby Jay Wadenah
Dale Dickey	...	Strom
Wendy Morrow Donaldson	...	Resort Owner
Adrien Dorval	...	Sheriff (as P. Adrien Dorval)
Aaron Eckhart	...	Stan Krolak
Shawn Henter	...	Bus Driver
Kathy Jensen	...	Store Clerk
Taryn Knowles	...	Ginny Larsen
Nels Lennarson	...	Hank
Costas Mandylor	...	Monash Deputy
J.J. McColl	...	Real Estate Agent
Gordon May	...	Criminologist #1
Gardiner Millar	...	Deputy #3 (as Gardinar Millar)

Storyline

The night he retires as a Nevada sheriff, Jerry Black pledges to the mother of a murdered girl that he will find the killer. Jerry doesn't believe the police arrested the right man; he discovers this is the third incident in the area in the recent past with victims young, blond, pretty, and small for their age. So he buys an old gas station in the mountains near the crimes in order to search for a tall man who drives a black station wagon, gives toy porcupines as gifts, and calls himself the wizard: clues from a drawing by the dead girl. Jerry's solitary life gives way to friendship with a woman and her small, blond daughter. Has Jerry neglected something that may prove fatal?

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Plot Keywords:

police | pledge | gas station | porcupine | drawing | 

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Taglines:

Detective Jerry Black has made a promise he can't break, to catch a killer he can't find.

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Genres:

Drama | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site at movies.warnerbros.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Asesino oculto

Filming Locations:

Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£142,100 (UK) (12 October 2001)

Gross:

£732,861 (UK) (9 November 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions, Franchise Pictures, Clyde Is Hungry Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The child murders depicted in the film were loosely based on actual cases that had been worked by Det. Joe Depczynski, the film's technical advisor. However, the cases were not thought to be the work of a single killer, as the film depicted, nor did the real detective come to the same end that Det. Jerry Black did.

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Goofs

This was filmed in British Columbia, which is considerably wetter than the Sierra Nevada, and it shows. The shot of downtown Reno seems to be the only real scene from that region.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jerry Black: She said it. She said it. She did.

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Crazy Credits

In memory of our Brothers In Arms Michael D. Haller and Jack Nitzsche

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Connections

References Three Colors: Blue (1993)

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Soundtracks

"Da Da Da"
Written and Performed by Jerry Hannan
Courtesy of Jerry J. Hannan Music
By Arrangement with Spire Artist Management

User Reviews

Fabulous - didn't want it to end!

Sean Penn proves himself a first-rate director who gets moving, deep performances out of all his actors. And what a supporting cast - in addition to Nicholson (at his most subtle, something he doesn't always do), there's Harry Dean Stanton, Benecio Del Toro, Tom Noonan, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Wright Penn, the list goes on and on with the best charactor actors around. Del Toro does something completely different once again. The story is very moving and almost at the level of a Greek tragedy. Beautifully shot and edited with good use of score. The best drama I've seen in quite a while.