The Pledge is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological mystery drama film directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson alongside an ensemble supporting cast of Patricia Clarkson, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Shepard, Mickey Rourke, Tom Noonan, Lois Smith and Benicio del Toro.

Dürrenmatt wrote the novella to refine the theme he originally developed in the screenplay for the 1958 German-language film It Happened in Broad Daylight with Heinz Rühmann.

A suspect, Toby Jay Wadenah, a Native American man with an intellectual disability, is found the next day.

An autopsy on Ginny proves that she had consumed chocolate before she died; wrappers found in Toby's truck solidify the likelihood that he killed the little girl, and the case is closed, despite Jerry's suspicions.

Jerry's investigations reveal three local, unsolved cases that bear the same modus operandi as seen with Ginny's, which Toby could not have possibly committed because he was incarcerated at the time.

After buying the station, Jerry moves into the house behind it and meets local waitress/bartender Lori, and her daughter, Chrissy.

Chrissy tells Jerry she is supposed to meet the "wizard" again the next day at a nearby picnic area.

However, while on the way to the meeting, the "wizard" dies in a car accident; hours later, the SWAT team gives up and leaves Jerry alone.

Tom Noonan recounts that, when Battlefield Earth flopped, the film's backers "were so freaked out... that they got on Sean [Penn] about finishing on time and finishing under budget, which wasn't really possible, because they were shooting in the mountains, and there were four or five scenes that I still had to shoot, which they never shot, which explain who I am in that film.

The critical consensus states: "Though its subject matter is grim and may make viewers queasy, The Pledge features an excellent, subtle performance by Jack Nicholson.

[12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore graded the film "D" on a scale of A+ to F.[13] James Berardinelli gave The Pledge three out of five, calling it "clever in the way that it gradually reveals things, but never gives us too much information at one time".

Penn and Nicholson take risks with the material and elevate the movie to another, unanticipated, haunting level.