This is a film that slipped under the radar of audiences and most critics, but one that I felt was one of the most interesting films of the year. Based on a German novel, The Pledge involves an aging detective, played wonderfully by Jack Nicholson, and his slow descent into insanity. On his last day of work, Nicholson decides to take one more case, which turns out to be a horrifying rape/murder of a little girl. When Nicholson goes to speak with the parents of the little girl, he makes the one promise a detective should never make: he swears on his eternal soul that he will find the killer. It is that promise that will lead to his ultimate undoing. Early in the case, a mentally retarded Native American, played by Benicio Del Toro, confesses to the crime, but then retracts his statement and kills himself. The police are content with pinning the crime on him, but Jack just can’t seem to shake the feeling that the killer is still out there. He decides to move out to the small town where the murder occurred to see if he can find a lead and while there he meets a financially struggling waitress, played by Robin Wright Penn. She doesn’t interest Jack at first, but when he sees that she has a daughter that fits the same description as the victim, he decides to use her as bait and lets the mother and daughter move in with him. He begins to find clues and a shady character shows up that could be the killer he’s been looking for. I won’t say what happens next but it is one of the most disturbing endings I’ve seen in a while and it is uncompromising in its tone and theme. Sean Penn, who directed the film, is really coming into his own as a director and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the table next.