The Pale Blue Eye

Reminds me of Tim Burton's The legend of Sleepy Hallow. Its not as dark and scary as Burton's movie , but it is somehow more mature and realistic science wise. Great cinematic appeal , what makes it beautiful is this chilly, gothic lonely and at times frozen in time scenery which is breathtaking in this movie. No fake Green studious or design sets and obvious film stages, its all real nature with rich scenes. Its a A dark mystery that cuts deep, and leaves you empty once you understand the painful ending. Bale did good , getting old with his skills but he delivers. All in all this movie is worth two hours of your time.

Without reading the book that it was adapted from, I can tell this was probably better to read than watch. I say this, mainly, because the gothic atmosphere was just enough. But I wanted more. I wanted to feel the dread that the setting and narrative eludes to. That feeling would come and go. Perhaps that had to do with the pacing, which matched the icy, winter setting. Though slow, it gave me the time to take in visual aspects of this film. I believe that's one of the strengths that it has. Harry Melling's abnormally sunken features played a role in the uneasiness I felt as viewer. I really wanted more of Poe's works, especially from the Tell-Tale Heart, to play a role alongside Bale and Melling. I was excited to hear that heart beating under the floorboard. But it never came.

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.

Not an extraordinary detective, but a really solid one.

The good; director Scott Cooper is a craftsman at building up suspense. In many scenes where seemingly nothing much happens, there is still that AIR OF EERY SUSPENSE. That feeling under my skin that something is about to happen.

A mysterious, eery feeling permeates throughout this entire, mesmirizing story. And it gets more intense and mysterious towards the final...

More good: Christian Bale, Christian Bale, Christian Bale. One of my favorite actors and he has got the gift of method acting. He becomes the part. He is the part. And it is such a joy to watch him perform this role in such a way that it mesmirized me from start till finish...

Any bad? This movie starts out quite slow, but the tension and suspense, slowly but steadily, build up until the very fascinating end. So have some patience and you will be rewarded by a solidly made detective.

This movie at the heart of it, is a 19th century detective thriller with a twist. Set in the 1800s in a non-fictional location (West Point), with a non-fictional character (Edgar Allan Poe), in a fictional situation, makes for one engrossing & original story.

A very solid performance by both Christian Bale & Harry Melling. They brought their characters into the screen so convincingly. Both their performances where a stand-out.

Who would have thought that the boy who played Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling) in the "Harry Potter" movies would turn out to be such a great actor. His performance matches that of Christian Bale throughout the movie. IMO, Melling even outshining Bale. Such is the quality of Melling's portrayal.

The narrative is well paced, and beautifully shot. The set, costumes, and the old English dialogue, suits the period perfectly, and adds to the authenticity of the movie. This movie is not only a joy to watch but also to listen to. A directorial masterpiece by Scott Cooper.

VERDICT: If you like detective thrillers with a twist, then you'll love this movie. Highly recommended.