Film Review: Christian Bale And Henry Melling In Scott Cooper’s ‘The Pale Blue Eye’
deadline.comMurder early American style is pointedly served cold in The Pale Blue Eye, a fancifully gruesome account of killings at the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, circa 1832, that attracts the attention of a certain Edgar Allan Poe, among others. Handsomely made in the dead of winter and generally adept at playing its dramatic cards, the film’s intrigue stems from the unusual academic setting, the ritualistic freakishness of the killings, the intelligence of the characters and the admittedly narrow portrait of a United States still just getting on its feet.
Making his sixth feature, as well as his third starring Christian Bale, director Scott Cooper adeptly juggles the dramatic balls most of the way but drags out the final act out rather than accelerating to its climax, resulting in a drama with good and particular qualities rather than one that’s genuinely exciting.
Set to open in a limited number of select locations December 23, the film should attract a solid following when it hits Netflix on January 6.
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