LONDON: The prospect of a grizzled Christian Bale playing a surly detective investigating a macabre ritualistic killing, aided by a young and enthusiastic cadet named Edgar Allen Poe is certainly an intriguing one. But while “The Pale Blue Eye” director Scott Cooper seems to have an abundance of riches in his adaptation of Louis Bayard’s 2003 novel of the same name — proven source material, a stellar ensemble cast and a reliably excellent leading man — viewers may come away from this Netflix movie feeling a little underwhelmed.
Christian Bale and director Scott Cooper on the set of “The Pale Blue Eye.” (Supplied)
Bale is retired detective Augustus Landor, tasked by the United States military to investigate the death of one of the cadets at its West Point academy. As Landor digs into the peculiar circumstances surrounding the untimely demise of Leroy Fry, he is assisted by cadet Poe (played with wide-eyed creepiness by Harry Melling), and somewhat hindered by others connected to the case. To say too much would undo the movie’s turning point, but proceedings take a decidedly ghoulish turn with revelations of occult practices and ritualistic mutilations.
Bale, as you’d expect, is at his understated best — his embittered detective gives off an air of someone who’s seen pretty much everything, and Landor’s relationship with the precocious Poe (Melling doing a fine job) makes for an enjoyable dynamic.
In addition, the wider cast (including Timothy Spall, Gillian Anderson, Toby Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Robert Duvall) are all exceptionally good. But there’s something really rather silly about the whole movie — the central murder plot feels a little tenuous, and some of the dialog falls on the wrong side of pretentious. Leaps forward in the case seem to happen with counterintuitive rapidity, and sometimes materialize from absolutely nowhere.
As a finished work, “The Pale Blue Eye” is moody, atmospheric, entertaining and packed full of excellent actors doing very fine work, but it veers into goofiness just that little bit too often to be truly excellent.
