Review: The Pale Blue Eye
Most of us are familiar with Edgar Allen-Poe the writer, but what happens when he tries to help solve a murder mystery?
“The Pale Blue Eye” follows detective Agustus Landor (Christian Bale) as he investigates the mysterious murders of young cadets in the United States Military Academy with the help of soon to be world renowned poet Edgar Allan-Poe (Harry Melling). When Landor can’t figure out the context of a ripped up note found at one of the crime scenes, he asks Poe to decipher it, leading them to become unofficial partners. The movie investigates the mysterious hanging of LeRoy Fry, followed by two other cadets. After each murder, satanic practices occur to the bodies of the victims.
The director’s choice to make Poe seem pretentious comes off as cliche and cringe-worthy. His character spends the majority of his time writing or speaking poetically, but the writing just makes him seem like a try-hard. Poe’s personality causes the other cadets to bully and ridicule him, making Landor and the coroner’s daughter, Lea Marquis (Lucy Boynton), the only ones to enjoy his company. At some points it becomes confusing as to whether Poe is guilty or just extremely interested in the murders. This addition feels intentional, and the entire time, Landor defends Poe, even when he doesn’t know if he is innocent or not.
The plot is intriguing, but at some points the movie drags on. Around the middle it focuses more on Poe’s relationship with Lea instead of the investigation. On top of that, there is a lack of investigative thinking left for the audience. The film lacks the mysterious aspect of a typical murder mystery. The writers slowly eliminate suspects for the audience except for the actual perpetrator, which leaves no room for the audience to discover it for themselves. While Poe was a suspect, Landor voices every thought he had of the matter, so it becomes quite obvious that Poe is not responsible.
While the entire movie is just barely interesting enough to hold the audience’s attention, the thrilling plot twist at the end almost makes up for the numerous boring moments. As Poe explains his discoveries to Landor, the audience finds out more about Landor’s backstory and excellent character development.
The characters are interesting and well portrayed, and the acting is nothing short of fantastic. An emotional moment toward the end stands out, where Poe struggles to get his words out. The contrast, despite being a poet skilled with words, makes the scene that much more powerful. The cinematography and soundtrack are excellent, but the plot is nothing new.
2/5
