Existentialist Theme in The Pledge
An Analysis of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s Obsessed Police Detective
Jul 4, 2008
The Pledge (released on DVD in 2001) reflects one of the themes of existentialism, popular during the time the original story was written by Friedrich Durrenmatt in the 1950s. According to this philosophical theory, humans are at the mercy of fate. Bad things happen to good people, and they just need to make the best of it by creating their own meanings to explain life’s injustices.
Chance Versus Science in The Pledge
As presented through Sean Penn’s direction, the story could take place in many different time periods. No real technology or time-dependent elements are included in this generic story about one man unsuccessfully trying to fight random violence by using science and logic.
In the film, Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson), a veteran police detective promises a murdered girl’s mother that he will hunt down the killer until he’s caught. This pledge becomes an obsession to Jerry when he finds that unlike in his previous cases, science, psychology, and logic will not solve the crime. He has no system for tracking down random acts of violence.
Science points to an Indian as the murderer because of his criminal record, his presence at the scene of the crime, the chocolate in the victim’s stomach and candy wrappings on the floor of his car. Yet the Indian is not guilty. Consulting a psychiatrist provides no real assistance, because the killer’s motives cannot be explained by science. Jerry’s logical steps in catching the killer (e.g., investigating the child’s drawing of a giant man) do not lead him in the right direction. Science fails the diligent detective when he needs it most.
Police Detective Wants Controlled Environments
Penn’s set design becomes remarkable for one reason only: Each location seems to be a controlled environment, but actually rages out of control – susceptible to random chance. For example, the farewell party is carefully planned, yet interrupted by an unexpected tragedy. The serene woods become disturbed by the murdered child lying bloody and mangled on the soft white snow. The police station with its guns, locks, and keys temporarily loses control when the Indian grabs the guns and shoots. The gas station – carefully and logically selected for its location near the murders – fails to produce the killer. Finally, the picnic area seems under control with a hidden team of police, yet the operation does not go as planned. The element of random chance enters all these supposedly controlled environments.
During close-ups of Jerry and other characters, additional people in the shots become blurred as if they are unnecessary under such intense examination of other elements – elements that could be analyzed under a scientist’s microscope. Penn uses many close-ups throughout the film – so close that we can see the wrinkles on Jerry’s brow, the spit coming out of the Indian’s mouth, the moles on a man’s chin, the sweat on his cheek, and the pores on everyone’s noses.
In contrast, Penn also selects long shots that soar like a bird in flight, flying over the waterways, houses, and landscapes. This could be an allusion to the dead girl (and the bird image from the grandmother’s story) or it could refer to a power greater than all of us that controls our fates. Because of random chance, Jerry falls into this situation and because of fate, he remains trapped in it. In keeping with Existentialist theory, free will, independent thought, logical deduction, and controlled environments cannot overcome fate – at least not in The Pledge.
For a comparison between the film and the book, read Friedrich Durrenmatt's The Pledge.
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