The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Title: The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Tagline: Every heart tells a tale.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Crime

Director: Scott Cooper

Cast: Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Robert Duvall, Timothy Spall, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lucy Boynton, Toby Jones, Charlie Tahan, Harry Lawtey, Simon McBurney, Hadley Robinson, Joseph Brooks, Brennan Keel Cook, Gideon Glick, Fred Hechinger, Matt Helm, Steven Maier, Jack Irving, Brennan Cook, John Fetterman, Gisele Fetterman

Release: 2022-12-22

Runtime: 130

Plot: West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New York City constable Augustus Landor to investigate. While attempting to solve this grisly mystery, the reluctant detective engages the help of one of the cadets: a strange but brilliant young fellow by the name of Edgar Allan Poe

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

This looks pretty interesting, has anyone seen this?

 

[Matt Hough]

This looks pretty interesting, has anyone seen this?

I'm going to watch it tonight. Will share my opinions later tonight.

 

[FincherFan]

As per usual, Christian Bale was excellent. Harry Melling (Dudley from the Harry Potter films) is also great.

 

[Matt Hough]

I was thoroughly delighted with the film. The period atmosphere was fantastic, and the mystery was intriguing and held my attention throughout. The twist was a surprise that I didn't see coming. Performances were excellent.

 

[benbess]

Outstanding cast. Wonderful production design with great period detail. The cinematography by Mosanobu Takayanagi seems worthy of an Oscar nomination. Apparently the production cost of this movie was about $70 million, and it seems like it's up there on the screen. It's slow moving, and I feel could have used more tension somehow, but it's still a quality art house production that does work on a few levels from my pov. My rating: B+

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

As per usual, Christian Bale was excellent. Harry Melling (Dudley from the Harry Potter films) is also great.

Agreed, really great, with twists and turns you don't see coming. Loved the slow pace, and the cinematography was exceedingly beautiful.
Didn't realize Duvall was init until I saw the credits.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I was thoroughly delighted with the film. The period atmosphere was fantastic, and the mystery was intriguing and held my attention throughout. The twist was a surprise that I didn't see coming. Performances were excellent.

I enjoyed it too. The twist didn't catch me by surprise because I felt there was too much left in the movie for it to be wrapped up so easily with still some runtime left in the movie. My only problem with this movie is the mostly Brit cast. Though, they were excellent, they couldn't find any American actors that can do as fine as job in some of those roles.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I got to it last night and also found it a very enjoyable picture. I was surprised that pretty much most of the parts are filled by notable actors, including Robert Duvall. They all bring something to the table even in their small roles. I don't recall hearing anything about this picture getting made which also caused me to be surprised at the all-star cast. This seems to have been done under the radar...or I just live in the dark. With a cast this big, you would kind of expect some big promotion of this film.

Solid story, good mystery. As Robert says above, at one point I had to pause the film and was surprised to see there was still 45 minutes of run time left when I thought the thing was wrapping up. This is kind of one of those three ending pictures. I felt two times that OK, they are wrapping it up only to come to one more ending. Not a knock, as everyone does good work here, but this one does have a sort of "based on the novel" feel to it, where they try to get as much of the story in the film as possible.

Beautifully photographed, candlelight scenes, snow, outdoor settings, adding greatly to the atmosphere. I thought of the Sean Connery picture The Name of the Rose, as it is that kind of period mystery, atmospheric and beautiful to look at, in a unique setting, with great actors interacting to deliver a tense mystery with some potential supernatural aspects to it. So, if you enjoyed that film, this should be right up your alley.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I also enjoyed this. I'm a sucker for a murder mystery, and this kind of dark, murky, exquisitely-detailed and photographed type of period mystery was just the ticket for a cold, dreary January evening. It did go on perhaps a bit too long, and was certainly deliberate in its pacing, but overall I found it engrossing and very well acted, especially Harry Melling, who was outstanding as E.A. Poe.

Agree with Reggie that this had some of the same tone and vibe of the Sean Connery version of The Name of the Rose...though by design, Connery's William of Baskerville was a more likeable character than the spikier one portrayed by Christian Bale here.

 

[Matt Hough]

The measured pacing didn't bother me at all. In fact, I thought as I watched how appropriate it was to move slowly for a story set two hundred years ago. Life just moved more slowly then. I thought about what folks did back then after dinner when there were no TV, radio, and phonograph. They could play board games. Someone could play the piano or another instrument; others read to themselves or perhaps read aloud since many novels back then were published in serialized form in magazines. In fact, we see that happening with the family playing chess and the daughter playing the piano as things began to reach a conclusion. It all seemed so true-to-life.

 

[SamT]

Is this a horror horror movie? or a Seven horror movie?!

 

[Matt Hough]

It's not a horror movie at all, but it has some passing resemblances to Seven with the somewhat gruesome quality of the murders. But you see much less graphic violence here than in Seven.

 

[Ashly Yeo]

It is a murder mystery set in the 1800s with an amazing production quality and even better acting crew. My wife and I watched this last Saturday close to midnight and the Dolby Atmos in our 9.2 setup is a character in its own right. From the sound of the heel clicks on the wooden floorboards to wind howls to animal barks to melting snow to door creaks, they added a new, rich dimension to the story telling. We really enjoyed this movie and will be watching it again this weekend.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

I just skimmed the comments, to avoid spoilers.

I had seen this popping up on Netflix, saw it had Christian Bale and I was in.

I saw about half of it this weekend and will get around to watching the rest when I can.

So far I like the it a lot. The level of acting I expect, an intriguing script and nice locale and cinematography. I didn't spot the "Dudley" actor yet.

 

[Malcolm R]

I didn't spot the "Dudley" actor yet.

He plays Edgar Allen Poe.

I've had this on my watch list, but the running time and comments here about "slow moving" make me hesitant.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Is this a horror horror movie? or a Seven horror movie?!

It's kind of just an old fashioned sort of Sherlock Holmes mystery. They do not dwell on bloodshed here or spend a lot of time showing the killings. The approach they took to this is fairly old school. Again, were I to compare it to a picture it would be The Name of the Rose, not Seven. It is nowhere near the intensity level as Seven and not as gruesome.

 

[old mole]

I enjoyed it too. The twist didn't catch me by surprise because I felt there was too much left in the movie for it to be wrapped up so easily with still some runtime left in the movie. My only problem with this movie is the mostly Brit cast. Though, they were excellent, they couldn't find any American actors that can do as fine as job in some of those roles.

What's the deal with American actors? Love watching Christian Bale, Toby Jones, Timothy Spall, H.Melling G. Anderson demonstrate their enormous talent. Oh, yes, and we did get Robert Duvall who is one of the few American actor worthy to appear with these Brits.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

It's kind of just an old fashioned sort of Sherlock Holmes mystery. They do not dwell on bloodshed here or spend a lot of time showing the killings. The approach they took to this is fairly old school. Again, were I to compare it to a picture it would be The Name of the Rose, not Seven. It is nowhere near the intensity level as Seven and not as gruesome.

This is a great summary. The plot is Bale is hired to investigate a murder and a military base. It get a bit macabre with the murder details, but its all about Bale observing, deducing, getting advice when needed, etc. Its a slow burn, but it didn't drag for me.