Jack Nicholson thriller The Pledge turns 25 on January 19, 2025

Movieweb reports that Sean Penn's neo-noir psychological thriller The Pledge, starring Jack Nicholson as Reno, Nevada police detective Jerry Black, turns 25 on January 19, 2025.

Based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1958 novella The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel, the film follows a retiring detective haunted by an unsolved child murder who promised the girl's mother he would find the killer; a similar crime, a suspect's suicide and an autopsy revealing the latest victim had killed herself drive him to investigate alone. The Pledge grossed $29.4 million against a $34 million budget, and the film is noted for Nicholson's restrained performance, an unconventional ending that divides audiences, Sean Penn's direction, striking cinematography, and a supporting cast that includes Helen Mirren, Mickey Rourke, Robin Wright and Benicio del Toro.

Released January 19, 2001, with a 123-minute runtime, the article says the film is "worth watching in 2026" and that its conclusion is intended to "either anger or impress," leaving viewers to decide how they react to the outcome.

Key Topics

Culture, The Pledge, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Benicio Del Toro