The Pale Blue Eye Movie Review: Christian Bale, Harry Melling Excel in Netflix's Uneventful Murder-Mystery (LatestLY Exclusive)

The Pale Blue Eye Movie Review: It’s 1830, the snow covers most of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. A man has been found hung dead, but there is more to it than meets the eye as foul play is suspected. A retired, veteran detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) is approached to take on this case and deduce exactly what went down the murder of this man, whose body is later missing a heart. This is exactly what we find ourselves in the midst of Scott Cooper’s The Pale Blue Eye, an adaptation of Louis Baynard’s brilliant novel of the same name, that doesn’t hold up quite well on the screen. PS – some mild spoilers will be mentioned over here. Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery Movie Review: Rian Johnson-Daniel Craig Pull Off Another Brilliant Benoit Blanc Murder Mystery (LatestLY Exclusive).

Travelling to West Point where he tries to make sense of this brutal murder, Bale’s Augustus Landor is what pushes the majority of this story forward. A widower who lives alone after his child ran away from home, Augustus is a revered detective, however, he does need help too. He meets up with the real-life poet Edgar Allan Poe (played by Harry Melling, who you might recognise as Dudley from the Harry Potter), who he enlists as his partner and solves the mystery that teases occult rituals and a secret revenge tale.

The most striking aspect of The Pale Blue Eye is its performances. From the start you will be pulled in by Christian Bale’s take on troubled, alcoholic constable. Bale manages to make the best of what is offered to him even though the writing at often times falters with giving a more personal touch. A widowed man that finds solace in the occasional drink while striking up a partnership with a fellow Cadet, and it makes for a worthwhile watch while certain nuances and subtleties to his character are revealed by the third act.

However, the man of the hour over here is Harry Melling, whose performance left me the most impressed. Portraying the real-life Edgar Allen Poe with a touch of excitement and passion of solving this occult murder, Melling tries to add as much of a personality to Poe as he can. It’s a passionate take that makes Poe such a smart character. Watching him deduce the piece of a poem left with the dead body of a cadet, or making the connections of dark rituals with the crime, there is a learning curve to him and it makes for a compelling watch even though The Pale Blue Eye’s script can seem familiar at many times.

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The familiarity comes from its mysteries, unfortunately, feeling uneventful overall. It can’t manage to adapt that piercing glaze that came with the novel. The pacing takes a hit like a truck, and much of the mystery’s excitement never comes from the actual revelations themselves, until the third act, that brings in the revenge angle but makes it look like a red herring rather than a naturally deduced answer.

Characters like Toby Jones’ Dr Daniel Marquis and Lucy Boynton’s Lea Marquis bring is a sense of predictability attached to them, and The Pale Blue Eye never manages to sway the viewer where you can actually be left clueless. It all makes for a third act that I would not describe as a cop out, but rather something that definitely needed more of a personality for it to land. Where The Crawdads Sing Movie Review: Daisy-Edgar Jones’ Engrossing Turn Is Marred by An Underwhelming Conclusion (LatestLY Exclusive).

Reminding me of the more recent outing Where the Crawdads Sing too, it shares a bit of familiarity with that tale in its presentation of subversion that never truly works, and it ultimately causes the downfall of something that’s extremely well-acted, but never truly capitalises on its concept. That’s not to say that it isn’t very well shot. The snowy covered West Point makes for an interesting location and it's really a treat to look at visually maintaining somewhat of a gothic atmosphere (and yet not fully pulling it off, like say, The Name of the Rose), not to mention that star studded supporting cast makes an effective impression too.

Yay!

Christian Bale and Harry Melling

Well Shot

Nay!

Predictable Story

Lacks Excitement and a Personal Touch

Final Thoughts

Brilliantly acted, however, kept strictly straightforward to a fault, The Pale Blue Eye never really goes above and beyond to do something different. Christian Bale and Harry Melling’s performances definitely keep it afloat, yet that’s not enough for this mystery-thriller that never knows how to capitalise on its concept. The Pale Blue Eye is streaming on Netflix right now.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2023 10:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).