The Pledge - 2001
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Synopsis:
This is a movie concerning a retiring detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) who, at his retirement party, is involved in the investigation of a brutal rape and murder of a young child that has only just been discovered.
When the duty falls to him because the local police apparently refuse it, he tells the parents of the child's death. The distraught mother exacts a pledge that he will find the murderer "upon his soul's salvation".
Meanwhile, the police arrest a retarded Native American trapper who had been seen at the scene of the crime and who has a previous rape history. The overzealous office in charge uses unorthodox tactics to extact a confused confession. The Native American, confused and feeling horribly guilty, kills himself. Case Closed, right? Not for Black.
Black determinedly investigates the murder and interviews the victim's best friend who tells him that the victim had a friend, a "Giant" called the "Wizard", who was giving her little porcupines. The victim had drawn a picture of herself with the Giant and his vehicle which Black steals to use to broaden his growing dossier. Black's investigation uncovers two other cases involving victims with strikingly similar descriptions which have remained unsolved. One of the similar murders happened while the Native American suspect was in jail. He fails to convince his fellow officers that they should keep the case open and although retired, must keep his promise and find out who murdered the victim in this case. He buys a store-gas station in the region in which the murders occurred.
He makes the acquaintance of a local waitress-bartender Lori (Robin Wright Penn) who just so happens to have a young daughter fitting the profile of all the victims. Lori is also a victim, of domestic abuse, and leaves her husband one rainy night after having been badly beaten and seeks assistance from Black. Black invites her and her daughter to stay with him temporarily, "no strings attached" but they eventually move in with him and the story kicks into high gear.
The rest of the movie is cut with glimpses of scenes of possible perpetrators and potential clues. Finally, the little girl off-handedly mentions to Black that she met a man called "The Wizard" who has invited her to meet him at the picnic grounds the following day. The little girl shows Black small chocolate porcupines "The Wizard" had given her.
Black sets up a stakeout at the picnic grounds with his ex fellow officers. After waiting what they feel is too long, the officers finally tire of the stakeout and leave, but Black is told they intend to tell Lori what is going on.
Lori races to the picnic ground, hysterically confronts Black with accusations and questions he doesn't appear to understand, then takes her daughter and leaves.
On the way back to the station, the police officers see a burning wreck with a dead driver. Hanging from the rear view mirror is a tiny porcupine.
The movie closes with Black drinking from a pint bottle in front of his closed and quite possibly abandoned store, muttering to himself.
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The Cast:
The cast of this film surprised me quite a lot. There are some very big names in this film and the actors only star in very small roles and some only for one specific scene.
Jack Nicholson
Aaron Eckhart
Dame Helen Mirren
Venessa Redgrave
Robin Wright
Patricia Clarkson
Micky Rourke
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Jack Nicholson:
Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director, is a three-time Academy Award winner and 12-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received Oscar nods in every decade from 1960s through the 2000s. Born on April 22, 1937 in Manhattan, New York, Nicholson was raised believing his grandmother was his mother, and his mother, a showgirl, was his older sister. He discovered the truth in 1975 from a Time magazine journalist who was researching a profile on him. Nicholson made his film debut in a B-movie titled The Cry Baby Killer (1958). His rise in Hollywood was far from meteoric, and for years, he sustained his career with guest spots in television series and a number of Roger Corman films, including The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).
Nicholson's first turn in the director's chair was for Drive, He Said (1971). Before that, he wrote the screenplay for The Trip (1967), and co-wrote Head (1968), a vehicle for The Monkees. His big break came with Easy Rider (1969) and his portrayal of liquor-soaked attorney George Hanson, which earned Nicholson his first Oscar nomination. Nicholson's film career took off in the 1970s with a definitive performance in Five Easy Pieces(1970). Nicholson's other notable work during this period includes leading roles in Roman Polanski's noir masterpiece Chinatown (1974) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest(1975), for which he won his first Best Actor Oscar.
The 1980s kicked off with another career-defining role for Nicholson as Jack Torrance inStanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining (1980). A string of well-received films followed, including Terms of Endearment (1983) which earned Nicholson his second Oscar; Prizzi's Honor (1985) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987). He portrayed another renowned villain, The Joker, in Tim Burton's Batman (1989). In the 1990s, he starred in such varied films as A Few Good Men (1992), for which he received another Oscar nomination, and a dual role in Mars Attacks! (1996).
Although a glimpse at the darker side of Nicholson's acting range reappeared in The Departed (2006), the actor's most recent roles highlight the physical and emotional complications one faces late in life. The most notable of these is the unapologetically misanthropic Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets (1997), for which he won his third Oscar. Shades of this persona are apparent in About Schmidt (2002), Something's Gotta Give(2003) and The Bucket List (2007). In addition to his Oscar wins and nominations, Nicholson has seven Golden Globe Awards, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. He also became one of the youngest actors to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement award in 1994.
Nicholson has five children: Eldest daughter Jennifer Nicholson (b. 1963), from his marriage to Sandra Knight which ended in 1968; Caleb James Goddard (b. 1970) with Susan Anspach; Honey Hollman (b. 1981) with Danish supermodel, Winnie Hollman; and Lorraine Nicholson (b. 1990) and Ray Nicholson (b. 1992) with Rebecca Broussard. Nicholson's longest relationship was the 16 years he spent with actress Anjelica Huston; it ended when Broussard become pregnant with his child.
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The Oscars:
For studio brief 1 and 2 I have looked into The Oscars. Jack Nicholson has been nominated 12 times for and Oscar and has won 3. I thought it relevant to include the videos of Jack Nicholson accepting his Oscars to look at the trade marks shown above.
Jack Nicholson winning three Oscars:
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The Locations:
Filming locations of the Pledge show that it was mainly filmed in Canada, specifically within British Columbia.
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