The Pledge (A J!-ENT DVD Review)

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CAST: Starring Jack Nicholson, Patrica Clarkson, Beau Daniels, Benicio Del Toro, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave and more.
DIRECTED BY: Sean Penn
WRITTEN BY: Friedrich Durrenmatt, Jerzy Kromolowsky
RATING: Rated R
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0237572
TYPE OF MOVIE: Drama
DURATION: 124 minutes

A retiring police officer makes a pledge to a murdered child’s family that he will catch the true murderer.

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Widescreen anamorphic format

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):

DVD REVIEW:

This movie has generated reviews from both sides of the spectrum.  Those who really love it because it’s so different and those who disliked it because it was so different.  In other words what it comes down to is a movie that is so different that depending on what you are expecting, it may or may not please you.

Before I go into my personal feelings of the movie, I will have to agree that Nicholson’s performance of the retiring police officer was good.  Many people wonder if the man can continue to do a stellar performance and it’s evident that no matter how old Nicholson is, he will always be a talented actor.  What I disagree with is this film being one of his prized performances and movies.

Second, I agree that Sean Penn did very well as a director in this movie, the cinematography was indeed beautiful but unfortunately a stellar performance, good directing, good music and good cinematography cannot make a great movie with a storyline that leaves you feeling empty and making you say “Is that it?”

This movie will go in my list of reviews of movies with strong potential but with a purpose to be different that will attract some moviegoers but more than likely will alienate people.  In this list are movies such as “Arlington Road” and “Juliet in Love”.

As with my review of “Arlington Road”, I give the the movie credit for being different and for having an ending so unlike what many people would expect but does being different mean good?  Perhaps to some people.  Some people found “Arlington Road” brilliant.  Some people found “The Pledge” brilliant because both movies are different.  Not me.

As for the DVD, video and audio is good.  The music sounds good but this is more of a dialogue film, so it’s not one of those that you will expect to be testing out your receiver.  As for special features, this movie only features a trailer and cast info (not for the whole cast…was this DVD rushed?).

So, if you are in the mood for something different and have a craving for a really good recent performance of Nicholson, check this DVD out. 

THE MOVIE:  C+
THE DVD EXTRAS:  C-
THE DVD OVERALL:  C-