Review: The Pale Blue Eye
The Pale Blue Eye hits Netflix just weeks after Benoit Blanc took over everyone’s Christmas. Rian Johnson’s detective-based series is so successful because it manages tones, offers a compelling mystery, and delivers on character development. Scott Cooper’s film manages the first two criteria, but fails on the third. Partially due to time constraints, partially because of the nature of films made for adults in the streaming era.
Christian Bale stars as grizzled detective Augustus Landor, called to investigate a murder at West Point. A cadet was found hanged. More distressing, his heart was ripped from his chest. The year is 1833, and a fledgling West Point can’t afford the negative publicity of a psychopath spoiling the institution’s reputation. So Superintendent Thayer (Timothy Spall) asks for Landor’s absolute discretion while investigating the case. Captain Hitchcock (Simon McBurney) and Dr. Marquis (Toby Jones) stymie Landor at every opportunity, but he finds an ally in unpopular cadet, Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling). The two seek answers in an a place where rigidity and silence are valued over morality.
Continuing in the style of Out of the Furnace and Hostiles, The Pale Blue Eye focuses on Bale playing an outsider dabbling in devout worlds. Whether it be religion or the military, Landor can’t place faith in any group that so willingly abides corruption. Poe also doesn’t fit in because of his obsession with morbidity and his Southern dandy drawl. That Poe and Landor bond so quickly isn’t surprising, the rapport between characters mirrors the complementing styles of Bale and Melling. While Poe is braggadocios, Landor is subdued. When confronted, Poe becomes meek whereas Landor ignites to fury, but both men are unquestionably resolved toward finding the evil that lurks these halls.
The settings of Cooper’s films are always set around the homes we make or homes we return to, but inevitably they feel cold, haunted. Painterly frames by Masanobu Takayanagi are beautifully composed yet they contain rot inside the majesty. Hidden away but there for those willing to look. Set decor and costumes are accurate to the period but also feel lived-in. The visuals of the film are unparalleled. It’s a shame that other aspects of the film aren’t given as much care.
The film handles the murder investigation well, staying ahead of the viewer while offering enough nuggets of information to keep them invested. Though it leaves one wanting a little in the character study department. If Cooper’s film was made in the 1970s, it would be 25 minutes longer. Long enough to flesh out the extraneous details of the story like Landor relationship to characters played by Robert Duvall and Charlotte Gainsbourg. As they exist in the film, they’re glorified cameos.
There is clearly a longer cut of The Pale Blue Eye somewhere. Whether a future director’s cut ever sees the light of day is a question that won’t be answered soon. As constructed, this film is solidly made. One that I would have gladly paid to see in a theater. Although a longer running time could’ve unlocked something great. Sadly, that’s a luxury rarely afforded films made for adults in this streaming era.
