Directed by Scott Cooper and starring Academy Award winner Christian Bale, the Netflix gothic thriller The Pale Blue Eye begins streaming today – and the reviews are now in. So, is The Pale Blue Eye and its central murder mystery worth a watch? Or is this tale of a world-weary detective and his partner, who so happens to be a young Edgar Allen Poe, one to miss? Let’s find out.
Beginning with Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com, The Pale Blue Eye is very much the former, honoring Poe while successfully exploring the darker parts of human nature.
JoBlo’s Alex Maidy also found a lot to like about The Pale Blue Eye, including the “eerie” score by Howard Shore, the blending of horror with mystery, and a strong performance from Harry Potter star Harry Melling. However, they felt that The Pale Blue Eye could have been much more thrilling than it ultimately is.
“The movie honors the real-life figure who would, among other things, become the arguable creator of the American detective story, while in its own right turning a shudder-inducing light on the darker recesses of the human heart.”
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The praise for Melling continues courtesy of MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman, who concluded that it is Melling rather than Bale who carries The Pale Blue Eye.
“Everyone in the cast is serviceable in their roles, but no one takes on their performance with as much enthusiasm as Harry Melling. A solidly built mystery, The Pale Blue Eye crumbles in the underwhelming third act, which doesn’t deliver a resolution that fits the complexity of the crime presented. While still a very well-made film, this is not nearly what I had hoped it would be.”
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“The Pale Blue Eye intrigues with fascinating character dynamics and occult themes. The narrative eventually stumbles with pacing issues and a perplexing, twist-laden third act. Harry Melling carries the film with an enthusiastic performance.”
The Pale Blue Eye is Available on Netflix Today
Netflix
Sadly, The Pale Blue Eye has been faced with some criticism. The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney felt a serious lacking of momentum from the mystery thriller, describing it as “inert.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety felt similarly, calling out The Pale Blue Eye for its inability to do justice to Edgar Allen Poe and his penchant for the macabre.
“It’s one of those handsomely mounted period pieces that should get under your skin; instead, it slumps from scene to scene with little momentum or tension, remaining just this side of inert.”
Finally, indieWire’s David Ehrlich ends things on a slightly more positive note, finding a lot to enjoy with The Pale Blue Eye despite its self-serious tone and somewhat lackluster approach to its premise.
“Despite the gloom-inflected atmosphere there is little here that actually feeds our fascination with Poe and the macabre mystique he became famous for.”
Directed by Scott Cooper and adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard, The Pale Blue Eye stars Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Harry Lawtey, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, and Robert Duvall.
“The Pale Blue Eye may be too frigid to thaw out the full potential of its premise, but this well-furnished Netflix whodunnit still has some fun tapping into the cleverest aspect of the Louis Bayard novel from which it’s been adapted.”
The Pale Blue Eye is available to stream on Netflix today.
