The Pale Blue Eye

A rather unexciting period piece that is unfortunately too uninteresting for most of its running time to afford to be so slow (and long). I was about to give it two stars, but the final reveal improved the impression a bit. Anyway, it's a shame, had it been written and directed a little more vividly, it could have been a different cinematic experience. (2023-01-06)

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! (2023-01-13)

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. (2023-02-01)

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. (2023-01-15)

I found Melling's acting terribly irritating for the first half hour, but then somehow it clicked; he’s a weird guy. I once read somewhere that every person has some equivalent of an animal, in my eyes he is a bat. If there's ever a remake of Nosferatu, I vote for him with all my limbs. Otherwise I really liked the visuals, the real locations, I really liked the candlelight and the eye-catching contrast it created; the atmosphere was delectable, the cold added so much. The pace was ok, I like these slowly told stories, and the twist at the end after the first reveal surprised me. I have no problem with this film, unlike my already oversaturated colleagues here. (2023-01-22)