Grade:  C

Director:  Sean Penn		Released:  January 2001
Writer:  Jerzy Kromolowski, from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's book		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Jack Nicholson		Running time:  124 minutes

Ratings System

I'm really glad Jack Nicholson is in virtually every scene of this movie, because he carries it, and carries it pretty well.  I think this is the best performance he has given in many years.  Better than As Good As It Gets in my opinion.

The downfall to this film was some of the other acting.  It felt forced and over-acted, giving some scenes an unnecessary heaviness.  Also, I think at least 10 minutes could have been cut, to keep it feeling fresh.  But I'd like to give Sean Penn credit for his filmic style.  In some respects you can "feel" his imprint on the film.  Certain characters have that same quirky ... thing ... that Penn usually brings to his acting.

This is a very non-traditional cop thriller, which is more about a man's obsession with keeping a promise, and less about the actual procedure of hunting down a killer.  This film is all about Nicholson's character, so if you don't like character driven films, and you prefer lots of shoot-outs in your cop movies, then this one isn't for you.  On the other hand, you can kick back and watch this film and join in the guessing game about what the character does on purpose, and what is coincidence.

- crocoPuffs