“The Pale Blue Eye” Movie Review

 

“The Pale Blue Eye”

 

Movie Review

 

The Pale Blue Eye is an American mystery thriller film written and directed by Scott Cooper, adapted from the novel of the same name by Louise Bayard. The film stars Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, and Robert Duvall. The plot follows veteran detective Augustus Lander as he investigates a series of murders at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1830 with the help of a young military cadet named Edgar Allan Poe.

The film's story is set in 1830, and retired veteran detective Augustus Lander is asked by the military to investigate an incident at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Lander is a widower who lives alone since his daughter Mathilde ran away two years ago.

A cadet named Leroy Fry was found hanged, but his heart had been removed from his body at the morgue. Senior officials at the academy want Lander to find out who did it and why. While examining the body, Lander discovers a small note clutched in the dead cadet's hand. Also, the marks on Fry's neck and fingers indicate that he was murdered, not hanged.

With the permission of the authorities, Lander enlists the help of another Academy cadet, Edgar Allan Poe, who takes an interest in the case. Poe and Lander decide to call Fry to a secret meeting based on the note. After slaughtering a cow and a goat in the area and removing their hearts, it is speculated that the killing may have been linked to witchcraft rituals.

Ballinger, another cadet, went missing and was later found hanged, his heart and genitalia removed. A third cadet named Stoddard, who was a colleague of the two victims, then disappears, and Lander assumes that this man has reason to believe that he will be the next to be killed. Lander and Poe begin to suspect the family of Daniel Marquis, who brought Fry's autopsy to trial in the first place. His son Artemus and daughter Leia are particularly suspect.

When Dr.Marquis went home, Lander found an old officer's uniform; The mutilation of Fry's body involves a man impersonating an officer. Lander confronts Dr. Marquis, who admits that he used magic to cure Leia's seizures, which she initially recovered from.

Poe is enchanted by Lea and volunteers to do whatever she wants. But he wakes up drugged and finds Artemis and Leia about to cut out his heart in a ritual to heal Leia. Landor arrives in time to save Poe, but the building catches fire, killing Leia and Artemus.

Considering the case is now settled, the military thanks Lander for his service. However, Poe recovers from his near-death experience and notices that the handwriting on the scrap of note found in Fry's hand matches Lander's. When he puts together all the information he gathers, it becomes clear that it was Lander who killed the cadets. Poe meets Lander at his end.

Two years earlier, Lander's daughter Mattie was raped by Fry, Ballinger and Stoddart after attending her first ball. Distraught by this experience, she committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. Lander did not inform anyone of this, but Mattie pretended to run away.

Distraught, Lander sets out to avenge his daughter. He gives Fry a note and takes him to a secluded spot before hanging him. But a patrol happens by, so Lander is forced to leave the body there. Leia and Artemis steal the heart for their ritual. After killing Ballinger, Lander mutilates his body to make it appear that the same "madman" who desecrated Fry's body killed the cadet.

Poe tells Lander that there are two notes with handwriting samples that could directly link Lander to the murders, but Poe burns them before leaving. Later, Lander is seen standing on the cliff where his daughter jumped to her death. "Rest, my love," he says, letting her hairband float in the air.

The Pale Blue Eye is a charmingly icy, creepy premise that gets wasted on a long, unsatisfying, and poorly executed murder mystery. It's a rotten shame because The Pale Blue Eye would have been a great Christmas routine for those who wanted a bit of a bite to go with their festive fun. Snowy, terrifying, and twisty, Christmas Eve has plenty of key ingredients to watch, but its lampooning pace, dark ending, and weak conflict prove an inescapably deadly combination.

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