In the Days of Poe

The Pale Blue Eye is a historical murder mystery film that was released in theaters last month before appearing on Netflix, and stars Christian Bale as a retired police constable asked to investigate a mysterious suicide at West Point in 1830. I watched it mostly because I like old mysteries, and the story included a young Edgar Allen Poe, who is a cadet at the academy at the time (which is true, except he was also married in real life at that point.)

What appears to be a suicide turns out to be murder, which Constable Landor reveals after examining the body, and then the hunt for the murderer begins. Landor meets Poe and asks him to discreetly help with the investigation by gathering intel on the other cadets. Various leads seem to point to various characters, but gradually you get the feeling that it's some kind of conspiracy, with Satanic rites involved. By the time the real murderer is exposed I was already suspicious, and rightly so. That's all I'll say so I don't spoil the whole film.

I'm on the fence about how I feel about this movie. I thought the acting started out very well, and then took a turn in the wrong direction. While actor Harry Melling did a decent job depicting a young Poe he went over the top with his Southern accent (Poe was born in Boston but raised in Virginia.) Everyone in the film seemed to be struggling, if they were trying too hard to be early 19th century people, and not comfortable at all in their roles. They all looked to me like actors instead of real people, which you should never think if the acting is good.

On the plus side the cinematography was spot on, as was the brooding melancholy of the film. The language and the procedures are accurate to the era, too. This is pre-Civil War America, and you're right there with the costumes, settings and props. That's probably why I'm on the fence, as aside from the acting it's a haunting depiction of life in 1830.

The Pale Blue Eye isn't a horrible choice to watch if you're bored. There is graphic depiction of corpses, and there are a few scenes that may be triggering for abuse and violence survivors. Available now on Netflix.