The Pale Blue Eye

A film where pretty much everything is right except how long it is, or rather how long it feels. Had they cut half an hour, which they sure could have done, it would have been better. Otherwise I really have nothing to complain about, the acting and cinematography are excellent, the story is interesting and the ending is strong. (01/15/2023)

Oh, my God, that was like 14 days long. Otherwise, it's a classic "Guess the murderer" type crime thriller with some pretty cool period visuals and an unexciting but average Christian Bale, but the running time is just horribly tedious. A skippable piece that no one will remember in two days. (01/10/2023)

The Pale Blue Eyes had a lot of potential to become an atmospheric period crime classic featuring E.A. Poe as a character. After watching it, however, I have to say that that the potential remains woefully untapped. Above all, the film suffers from a long running time and slow pace – the story could certainly have fit into a hundred minutes and would have been more compelling and tight. Even from an audiovisual point of view, the film didn't work on me as I expected. I do, however, praise the last third and its two twists. The first is oddly predictable, but the second is quite surprising, though it have come 20 or 30 minutes earlier. Poe's character was fine, but by the end it was too much. Better three stars! (01/13/2023)

Scott Cooper's collaboration with Christian Bale was once a resounding success (if you haven’t seen Hostiles from 2017, you should definitely check it out). Unfortunately, here, Cooper bit off more than he could chew. The visuals are flawless—E.A. Poe’s unmistakable book atmosphere is perfectly captured on screen, and even the dramatic monologues surprisingly fit well into the overall concept. But the pacing! The first hour drags at times to an almost unbearable degree. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy slower detective stories, but this was taken to an extreme. The film did manage to redeem itself somewhat towards the end—it started to gain real momentum, and the final plot twist truly knocked me off my feet. Bale delivered a masterful performance once again. So, it ends up being a solid 7/10, but honestly, it had the potential for a much higher rating. Such a shame. I give it 7/10. (02/01/2023)

It turns out that Scott Cooper does need studio oversight, because his biggest problem is his tired and unimaginative direction and his unwillingness to let any material on the cutting room floor (figuratively speaking). The story isn't bad and the finale in particular is very strong, it's just that the overall investigation lacks traction and lurches from one lead to the next without building suspense or anything original. Fortunately, we have the great Bale, who really carries it on his shoulders. Melling handles Poe very convincingly and ably seconds Bale. Shore’s music makes for half the atmosphere. Such a shame because the potential was enormous, especially given the great conclusion. (01/13/2023)