I
had just read a Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn interview
in The New York Times about their new movie, The
Pledge. Penn compared Nicholson's performance to an earlier
movie in which he directed Nicholson (and Wright, his wife), The
Crossing Guard. So being a big fan of both Penn and Jack, I rushed
out to rent this movie.
Well, it's a pretty
dreary story. Jack wants revenge on a man (David Morse) who killed
his daughter in a drunk driving accident. Morse has just been release
from prison, and Jack plans to kill him. There is some dramatic buildup,
which I thought was going to lead to a finale a la Taxi Driver,
which we've seen a million times by now. It didn't go in that direction,
but it meandered into a morass of guilt and angst. This movie was
mostly a waste of time, squandering Nicholson's talent.
—
marty
