The film features an ensemble cast that includes Christian Bale and Harry Melling as Landor and Poe respectively, along with Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Harry Lawtey, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, and Robert Duvall.
The cast includes some of my favourites and I am tempted to watch the film … but some critics have reservations and I am reluctant to lose 2 hours of my life.
If any FM DOES watch it then please let me have a review (however brief).
Well, the production values of “The Pale Blue Eye” are of a high standard and the movie starts off very well indeed. The actors, including an almost unrecognizable Timothy Spall, fitted into the snowy West Point setting and the gothic plot took shape.
Then the “holes” began to appear …
West point, for all the vastness of the buildings, seemed to accommodate only a couple of dozen cadets and support staff were rarely to be seen.
Harry Melling as Landor was totally improbable, either as a soldier or as Edgar Allen Poe.
The introduction of Satanic rituals and bloody mutilated carcasses (animal and human) into the proceedings stretched the bounds of probability even further.
Suffice to say that by the “finale”, I couldn’t care less about the plot or characters, so I “skipped” over the last 15 minutes.
Gillian Anderson’s role was purely supportive and I never spotted Robert Duvall (but looked him up in the cast list).
All in all, a complete waste of time.
If I had to compare it with a similar movie, e.g. Sleepy Hollow (1999) then that would score 4/5 and The Pale Blue Eye would score 1/5.
Well Omah, after reading your tip off about this ‘thriller’. l watched the first half hour.
Yes l agree, they are all high calibre actors. I love the excellent Timothy Spall.
Unfortunately, it is a very dark gothic film. All the men in it have the scariest faces that l wouldn’t need to be murdered by any of them. I would die of shock at the sight of their faces in the dark!
I did last longer watching it than l thought but in the end l peeped online to see who the murderer was!