THE PALE BLUE EYE is an intriguing mystery thriller set in 1830 adapted from the novel of the same name written by Louis Bayard. Directed by Scott Cooper, the film follows Detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) as he investigates a series of murders at the U. S. Military Academy in West Point. He is assisted by a fictionalised Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling), an intelligent and eager young cadet who is destined to become one of America's most influential authors and the originator of the detective genre. The film is visually stunning with a great cast and some excellent performances, especially from Bale and Melling.

The story revolves around Landor's investigation into the murders, which are all linked by the victims' hearts being removed. Through his research, he discovers a dark secret involving the academy's headmaster and some of its most prominent students. As he delves deeper into the mystery, Landor finds himself in danger as he gets closer to the truth.

The film is slowly paced and builds tension throughout as we get closer to uncovering the killer's identity. The cinematography is also stunning, and the production design is very well done. The film does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere of suspense and mystery.

The slow pacing of the story may put some viewers off, but it is worth sticking with. The performances of both Bale and Melling are outstanding, and their chemistry helps to make the movie feel real.

And a caution: Don't rush out of the cinema when you think the movie has ended. There are two "endings" and both are a surprise and the second is an excellent twist! When you see the titles scrolling, you will know the movie has ended!

While many period pieces drag on and seem to be rather uneventful imo this product from Scott Cooper certainly delivers on holding my full attention throughout with ominous settings and suspenseful scenery. Bale is obviously a huge part of that as well with his dedicated ambition as usual for his roles. The story doesn't drag and violence is on display, something that I've seen held back on in most thriller period pieces maybe aside from Sleepy Hollow (1998). Dare I say the execution of the set pieces and costumes were much more convincing as well and gave the film more authenticity. Overall I was surprised with this film and its effectiveness.

No pun intended - Edgar Allen Poe - I assume you have heard of him. Depending on your level of knowledge .. I reckon you may know certain things better than others. This is based on a book by someone else and Poe is not the central figure, but more like ... well you'll have to watch to figure out his role in all of this. Let's just say he is not fully developed here ... and may be just a "fiction"/fragment of the real one - again I do not have the knowledge to really know that.

But the movie is not made to be accurate to historical figures I assume. Still crows do appear (wouldn't be Poe without them, right?) ... and maybe some other things that you feel have to be in a movie that has Poe in it (in Germany he even appears in the title).

Those well let's call them outside factors aside, the movie knows what it wants and knows how to present it. No pun intended here either: the visuals are amazing! Cinematography mainly! And while the movie plays outside a lot (again sorry for the pun), we do have some buildings and insides that play a role. But we never really entirely explore them - the movie focuses on the people/characters/actors rather than the rooms. Not that the rooms aren't very well structured too - they are. You'll understand when you see the movie.

But focusing on other things, make a central location stick out even more ... not just visually but also tonally ... you are not just seeing the house and it's design and rooms ... you hear it too ... literally! And that helps a lot too.

Then you have the dialog as well as a script that is really tight .. with quite a few twists and turns. Things that do make sense ... and warrant multiple viewings too. You will view things with a different set of eyes so to speak ... and characters too. I thought about how the movie would introduce all the characters ... but it was able to do just that ... and we will get emotional and inside their heads ... and minds. And understand motives ... whether we agree or not is a different beast ... still, strong contender to be in my top 10 of 2022 ... have to check my list in a week ...