Search
The Pale Blue Eye
Picture of Derrick Dunn

Derrick Dunn

The Pale Blue Eye Christian Bale & Scott Cooper’s third collabo is their weakest

Christian Bale reunites with director Scott Cooper for the third time in The Pale Blue Eye from Netflix. In addition to directing, Cooper pens the screenplay, which adapts the same-titled novel by Louis Bayard. 

The year was 1830, and the place was West Point. A cadet is found dead in the early hours of a gray winter morning. The tragedy takes a savage turn when the young man’s heart is discovered to have been skillfully removed from his body after the body arrives at the morgue. The fledgling military academy’s leaders are terrified that irreparable damage will be done to the fledgling institution, so they turn to a local detective, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), to solve the murder.

Due to the code of silence among the cadets, Landor is unable to pursue the case on his own and enlists the assistance of one of his own who is very eccentric, with a disdain for the military rigors, and a penchant for poetry, a young man named Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling).

Undoubtedly, our two haunted protagonists deserve to be in the spotlight. Melling and Bale face each other in a chamber for a short time. This is a chance for us to experience real, driven character heads for a short period. Even though these characters have been churning out helpful information for so long, they still need to be allowed to shine.

There is no doubt that Scott Cooper is a true theatrical prodigy regarding the taciturn and the ambiguous. While he struggles with his inner demons here in the cold and at the edge of twilight, he occasionally displays such strengths. No doubt, they were immediately swallowed up again by the frantic, garrulous pursuit of clues. Having found the solution, this is the resolution that calls to us. 

 

Final Grade: C

 The Pale Blue Eye is available to stream on Netflix beginning January 6, 2023.

Movie Clappers

More reviews to explorer

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

“Your Friends & Neighbors” explores the dark side of trying to keep up with Joneses

After being fired in disgrace and still dealing with a messy divorce from his wife Mel (Amanda Peet), who cheated on him with his former best friend Nick Brandes (Mark Tallman), hedge fund manager Andrew Cooper (Hamm) resorts to stealing from his neighbors’ homes in the affluent Westmont Village, only to discover that the secrets hidden behind the wealthy facades might be more dangerous.

“The Studio” is a witty take on the madhouse of Hollywood

Seth Rogen continues his successful relationship with Apple TV in his latest comedic series, “The Studio.” Rogen and his longtime collaborator, Evan Goldberg, direct all ten episodes and write three. Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez write the remaining episodes.

“O’Dessa” is an out of pitch genre mash up

Director Geremy Jasper attempts to modernize the rock opera genre in his sophomore film, “O’Dessa,” available on Hulu. Jasper also pens the film’s screenplay. Rising actress Sadie Sink portrays the titular character, a farm girl searching to recover a cherished family heirloom. She travels to a strange and dangerous city, where she meets her one true love, Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). To save his soul, she must put the power of destiny to the ultimate test.