The Pale Blue Eye has been one of the best movies I’ve seen. If not THE best. I’m both a classic literature and a murder mystery lover, so finding a period piece which intertwined one of my favorite authors and a chilling murder mystery was absolutely perfect. Everyone involved in the creation of The Pale Blue Eye, exceeded my expectations by developing a movie which, in my opinion, is almost perfect. Unfortunately, this review might not be the most interesting because it’s all good. Instead of criticizing anything or giving a basic plot summary, I’ll just share all of the aspects which I found to be the most outstanding.

Firstly, the actors involved put on fantastic performances. Harry Melling was the perfect fit for Edgar Allen Poe. He personified Poe’s uniqueness and quirkiness, making me even more endeared to a writer which I already loved. Also, as a side note, Melling played Malcolm in A24’s Macbeth. I played Malcolm in my college’s production of the Scottish Play, so I guess I was a little biased. Anyway, Christian Bale also was superb as Augustus Landor. We all knew Christian Bale was a great actor, but his role in this movie is unlike any other which I’ve seen and, per usual, he was great. Lucy Boynton also was fabulous as Lea Marquis. I loved her chemistry with Melling and was even more impressed by her incredibly intentional acting. I won’t go on, but these three and the other actors who performed in the film were all wonderful. I can’t speak highly enough about them and their performances!

Next, I thought the plot was intriguing, purposeful, and masterfully written. The movie is based on Louis Bayard’s 2003 novel and the two share a title. Firstly, I loved how this movie was the recreation of a novel. I only have experience with short films, but I feel like part of the creative process involves the shots, actors, etc. Essentially, I think there are other factors which in some movies supersede plot. For example, some movies are so focused on entertaining viewers with opulent displays of wealth that plot takes second place (or third, or fourth, or worse). A perfect example of this is the 2022 rendition of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. This was also based on a fantastic novel (one of my favorites), the creators paid little to no attention to Christie’s mystery and spent all their time focusing on Gal Gadot and her character’s wealth. That’s another article, but anyway I think the writers for The Pale Blue Eye does a wonderful job focusing on the story. The costumes, set, scenery, props, effects, and all the rest are still amazing too (props to the crew!) and they were used to convey the story rather than obstruct it. The story was just great and I was never bored. The story twists and turns as if speeding down a winding pathway, and of course (spoiler) ends in one stunning final plot twist which both shocks viewers and puts the other plot twists which were so insane before to shame. Bayard’s story is just amazing, and the writers who adapted it into a film also exceeded expectations.

Lastly, I absolutely loved the allusions to Poe’s writing and life. Even the title itself references Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” along with a few other details which I won’t spoil. Essentially, if you’ve read Poe before you’ll see the comparisons. There were some I realized and some I didn’t, inspiring me to crack open my “Works of Poe.” Anyway, if you’ve read Poe before or especially if you’re an English major you’ll feel considerable academic validation upon recognizing Poe’s classics peeking through the movie. Aside from that, I think it’s really clever and was a great nod to Poe. I also loved how it explored his life before he wrote his major works. It is so interesting to think about what an exemplary author like Poe was like before his success, and Melling did a fantastic job portraying the young author.

I’m not very educated with film, but I thought the cinematography was fantastic. The winter setting allowed for picturesque snowy scenes, both pleasing the eye and symbolizing the coldness present in the murder and in Poe’s works. I not only enjoyed the intellect of the story, but I also enjoyed just watching The Pale Blue Eye.

There is one other important and serious aspect which I would like to discuss. Specifically (major MAJOR spoiler here) is the assault and the aftermath of that. Learning that Mattie was assaulted by a group of students and subsequently took her life was devastating. Although it’s obviously fiction, the helplessness and anguish that I can only imagine Mattie felt added the greatest tragedy to a largely tragic story. This also leads to convoluted feelings about the justice of it all. Was Landor in the right when he killed the boys who assaulted his daughter and drove her to suicide? I think this not only makes viewers think, but adds a dreadful reality to the story. In a time period where women did not have a voice, I can only imagine that situations like this occurred more often than they should have (and obviously only once is enough). Anyway, I think it was a really, really important aspect of the story. It elevates it from a murder mystery to a social commentary and binoculars into the lives of many women who were assaulted and were unable to share their story and find peace. It makes me grateful to live in this modern world and begs me to mourn the hardship that women faced in generations before.

The Pale Blue Eye is a wonderful movie and a joy to watch. It made me think and feel, which I think are trademarks of a really great piece of art. I absolutely loved the movie and could not recommend that you watch it more! It’s officially going down as one of my favorites.