Scott Cooper’s “The Pale Blue Eye” is an adaptation of the novel of the same name from author Louis Bayard.
Starring Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Bonton, Toby Jones, Robert Duvall, the murder mystery takes place in the 1830s at West Point Academy.
Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), a retired and reclusive police detective who lives near West Point, is hired by the Academy’s top officers to help solve the hanging of West Point Academy cadet LeRoy Fry.
Landor enlists the help of a young cadet (Harry Milling) named Edgar Allen Poe. Of course more murders occur. Both Landor and Poe show off their skills at breaking codes to discover new clues.
I found the pacing of A Pale Blue Eye a bit slow and deliberate. But the tension builds as devil worship and occult ceremonies play key roles in the motives in this movie. If you’re in the mood for an old-fashioned mystery movie with deceptive plotting and a strong cast of characters, don’t miss A Pale Blue Eye. GRADE: B+
I pretty much agree with you. Melling (the bad kid from Harry Potter) is pretty good as Poe.
Steve, I thought Melling’s performance was a great contrast to Bale’s stoic character. I wonder if Netflix will consider a sequel or a prequel.
A good cast, plus it sounds interesting, so I’ll almost certainly give it a shot.
Michael, A PALE BLUE EYE unfold slowly…but it’s worth the wait!
And, congratulations on Georgia’s blowout win against TCU!
This is on our list.
Melling played awful cousin Dudley in the Potter series and was in The Queen’s Gambit.
Jeff, I remembered Melling but had to GOOGLE him to find out about his appearance in HARRY POTTER movies and THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT. Melling did a great job as Poe!