The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
Murder, Edgar Allen Poe, and Christian Bale in the lead role? I’m interested. The movie is based on a book of the same name by Louis Bayard.
Laura’s Rating: 3/5 Stars
Retired detective Augustus Landor has been asked by the fledgling West Point Military Academy to solve the case of what happened to a young cadet, found hanged and with his body mutilated. He enlists the help of a quirky cadet, one Edgar Allen Poe.
Set in 1830s New York in the dead of winter, the movie delivers a sufficiently bleak and eerie atmosphere. A bit grisly and gruesome in some places, it generally has a macabre feeling without becoming overly graphic or frightening. There are also plenty of Edgar Allen Poe references for fans of the author.
Throughout the film, Landor is amused by Poe’s quirky nature and romantic notions, and I must say I was as well. Actor Harry Melling shines in the role of Poe and really makes the character his own.
I looked it up so you don’t have to: this story is not in any way true. Poe did briefly attend West Point before getting kicked out, but the story and the other characters are based off of a book and are entirely fictional.
The plot starts slow, but is full of twists and turns. I found the film entertaining and the acting performances were solid, but it didn’t all come together as smoothly as I would have liked.
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