One murder. Two murders. Three. Barnyard animals, mutilated in a ritualistic fashion. A hard-boiled detective. Edgar Allen Poe. Mix these plot elements into a dark concoction and the result should be a Gothic masterpiece. However, as much as I love movies about candlelit killings, I was sorely disappointed with The Pale Blue Eye. Despite an excellent cast and enticing premise, this film collapses under the weight of its own potential.
Let’s start with the good: Christian Bale, in my opinion, is one of the world’s finest actors. His range is astonishing, and his characters are often brimming with dark complexity. His performance in this movie is no different. Augustus Landor (played by Bale) is a bitter detective with a drinking problem, charged with solving a series of murders at West Point Military Academy. He’s deeply private and reserved, although he occasionally explodes with anger. Bale portrays this dichotomy perfectly. His foil is none other than the nineteenth century poet Edgar Allen Poe, played by Harry Melling. Harry Potter fans may recognize him as Dudley Dursley, but Melling has made strides in his acting career since those days. He portrays Poe as a bright and excitable young man, a perfect yang to Landor’s yin.
The cinematography is also very well done. The film takes place in 1830s New York during the dead of winter. The natural scenery is bleak and cold, driving our characters indoors where oil lamps are the only source of light in the oppressive darkness. Every shot is steeped in Gothic melancholy. Unfortunately, this rich atmosphere is paired with a very thin story.
The film starts off strong. The body of a young cadet has been found hanged from a tree, sans heart, and Augustus Landor is asked to investigate the crime. As the story progresses, the audience learns that Landor has a tragic past, and this is one of my main problems. Of all the character archetypes, the “brooding detective who has lost a loved one” has to be one of the most tired. The fate of Landor’s daughter seems like an irrelevant plotline for most of the runtime, until it is shoehorned into the last ten minutes as the setup for an obvious twist. Twists are important in the mystery genre, but a good mystery should plant clues for the audience to pick up on as they progress. Yet, in this film the twist feels tacked on rather than masterfully weaved in.
My other issue is the character of Poe. Why did this character have to be Edgar Allen Poe? Harry Melling portrays the author as a young man before he began his writing career. While it’s true that Poe did attend West Point as a young man, are his school days really interesting enough to warrant such focus? The Edgar Allen Poe featured in this movie is a glorified sidekick to Landor, a role which could have been given to an original character. It would have been more interesting to write a story about an older, seasoned Poe solving a murder. As it stands, the movie doesn’t use the character to the fullest extent, and his inclusion is baffling.
The Pale Blue Eye promises a lot, but delivers little. The mystery itself is compelling enough at first, but spread out over two hours it begins to feel like a chore. Diehard Poe fanatics might find something interesting here, but those looking for a thriller may feel free to skip this one.
Matthew Iddon was born at an exceptionally young age. He aspires to one day become old. He currently resides.
