The Pledge

“Detective Jerry Black has made a promise he can't break, to catch a killer he can't find.”

Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) is a police detective in his last hours on the job when he is pulled into the murder of a young girl. Her mother asks him to swear he will find the man who did it, and he gives his word. Sean Penn directs it at an unhurried pace, letting Jerry's retirement and his promise run side by side, one stretching long and the other wearing him down.