Searching...
On the night of his retirement Jerry Blake promises the mother of a murdered girl that he will find her killer. He buys a filling station and searches for a tall man using clues from a drawing by the dead girl...
...Absorbing dramatically....Nicholson is outstanding....Everything is kept on a tight leash, and very effectively so...
...[A] haunting and ravaged performance by Jack Nicholson....Penn is a true talent...He's got a real flair -- for visual suspense, for landscape, [and] for holding his actors in the throes of slow-motion breakdown... A|64981|Los Angeles Times - p.F8|19/01/2001|...[Penn] demonstrates a directorial focus and intensity, plus the ability to create mood and ambience while getting a message across..."
...A consummate work of screen adaptation, and further evidence that there is precious little Sean Penn can't achieve on film, whether before or behind the lens...
...Rourke makes a vivid impression....Nicholson's subdued, haunted performance is one of his best, and Robin Wright Penn is surprisingly good...
...Deepily, scarily rewarding....[Mr. Nicholson is] magnificently understated....[The film] reveals Mr.Penn to be a great director of actors with a mind-reading ability to discover a character's truth in the tiniest dramatic nuances...
...The movie wouldn't be imaginable without its commanding star. Nicholson is in virtually every scene underplaying to great effect...-- 3 out of 4 stars