The Pale Blue Eye is based on a book by Louis Bayard in which a retired NYC police constable is asked to investigate the death of a cadet at West Point. It is 1830, and Landor, the investigator is assisted in his work by Edgar Allen Poe, a cadet at the institution.
The acting was generally quite good, with exceptions. Highlighted by Harry Melling as Poe: courtly, sometimes flamboyant, relishing the companionship of a kindred spirit, eloquent and erudite, with a fine approximation of a Northern Virginian accent ("aboot" for "about".) An Oscar-worthy performance.
Christian Bale's portrayal of guarded, haunted, grief-stricken investigator Landor earns highest marks as well, as do Timothy Sprawl and Simon McBurney for their performances as West Point's Colonel Thayer and Captain Hitchcock. Robert Duval also delivered a fine, if brief, performance in the role of Jean Paget; scholar of the occult. Christine Gainsbourg delivered a solid performance as pensive and insightful Patsy, a barmaid.
Other actors delivered generally acceptable performances. The weakest performance among male actors was in a most demanding role, that of Dr Marquis, Academy physician. As interpreted by Toby Jones, Marquis seemed self-assured and pedantic, and failed to display credible signs of the unimaginable stress of heading a dysfunctional family deeply engaged in bizarre and criminal practices.
Unfortunately, neither Gillian Anderson nor Lucy Boynton were able rise to the level of credible characters. Anderson as Mrs. Marquis affected an accent of indeterminant origin and operated at only two levels of emotional intensity: 1) slow idle and 2) scenery-chewing. Lucy Boynton as her daughter exhibited the same range.
The gray, Gothic, granite old campus of Westminster College in Western Pennsylvania provided a highly credible vision of what West Point might have looked like in the early 19th century. A nearby historic inn and other stone and wooden buildings in the area were convincing as structures in the mid-Hudson Valley. Desaturating the few colors in the midwinter palette of the snowbound Northeast was an excellent decision. One critic has described the result as the defining representation of West Point "Gloom Period." Using candlelight in nighttime interior scenes is a good artistic decision but requiring as many as 7 candles on a small table to adequately illuminate two people in a pub strains the limits of credibility.
Civilian costumes seemed appropriate to the period. Uniforms were authentic, except for the modern cadet full dress crest on the shakos worn by officers. It was not used at West Point until the 20th century, circa 1927.
Background music was unimaginative, seemingly incessant, and ineffective. One is reminded of the famous line from Amadeus: "Too many notes, Mozart!" The simple solo bass glissandos accompanying the Netflix trailers are far more effective in imparting a sense of mystery and dread.
The screenplay itself was most problematic. Bayard's book gives the reader pages of detailed explanations of the motivations and emotions of all the principal characters. The complexity of the plot does not lend itself to condensation. The motivations and behavior of principal characters Landor, Poe, Thayer, and Hitchcock are well documented in book and film. Those of the Marquis family are murky at best in the book, and nearly unintelligible in the film.
I was fascinated by that portion of the film that focused on Poe's personality, his life as a cadet and his relationships with others - Landor, Lea, and other cadets. I also enjoyed observing Landor's conduct of the investigation, and finally understanding his tragic backstory, and his motives. Neither the book nor the movie adequately explained the actions of the Marquis family.
The acting was generally quite good, with exceptions. Highlighted by Harry Melling as Poe: courtly, sometimes flamboyant, relishing the companionship of a kindred spirit, eloquent and erudite, with a fine approximation of a Northern Virginian accent ("aboot" for "about".) An Oscar-worthy performance.
Christian Bale's portrayal of guarded, haunted, grief-stricken investigator Landor earns highest marks as well, as do Timothy Sprawl and Simon McBurney for their performances as West Point's Colonel Thayer and Captain Hitchcock. Robert Duval also delivered a fine, if brief, performance in the role of Jean Paget; scholar of the occult. Christine Gainsbourg delivered a solid performance as pensive and insightful Patsy, a barmaid.
Other actors delivered generally acceptable performances. The weakest performance among male actors was in a most demanding role, that of Dr Marquis, Academy physician. As interpreted by Toby Jones, Marquis seemed self-assured and pedantic, and failed to display credible signs of the unimaginable stress of heading a dysfunctional family deeply engaged in bizarre and criminal practices.
Unfortunately, neither Gillian Anderson nor Lucy Boynton were able rise to the level of credible characters. Anderson as Mrs. Marquis affected an accent of indeterminant origin and operated at only two levels of emotional intensity: 1) slow idle and 2) scenery-chewing. Lucy Boynton as her daughter exhibited the same range.
The gray, Gothic, granite old campus of Westminster College in Western Pennsylvania provided a highly credible vision of what West Point might have looked like in the early 19th century. A nearby historic inn and other stone and wooden buildings in the area were convincing as structures in the mid-Hudson Valley. Desaturating the few colors in the midwinter palette of the snowbound Northeast was an excellent decision. One critic has described the result as the defining representation of West Point "Gloom Period." Using candlelight in nighttime interior scenes is a good artistic decision but requiring as many as 7 candles on a small table to adequately illuminate two people in a pub strains the limits of credibility.
Civilian costumes seemed appropriate to the period. Uniforms were authentic, except for the modern cadet full dress crest on the shakos worn by officers. It was not used at West Point until the 20th century, circa 1927.
Background music was unimaginative, seemingly incessant, and ineffective. One is reminded of the famous line from Amadeus: "Too many notes, Mozart!" The simple solo bass glissandos accompanying the Netflix trailers are far more effective in imparting a sense of mystery and dread.
The screenplay itself was most problematic. Bayard's book gives the reader pages of detailed explanations of the motivations and emotions of all the principal characters. The complexity of the plot does not lend itself to condensation. The motivations and behavior of principal characters Landor, Poe, Thayer, and Hitchcock are well documented in book and film. Those of the Marquis family are murky at best in the book, and nearly unintelligible in the film.
I was fascinated by that portion of the film that focused on Poe's personality, his life as a cadet and his relationships with others - Landor, Lea, and other cadets. I also enjoyed observing Landor's conduct of the investigation, and finally understanding his tragic backstory, and his motives. Neither the book nor the movie adequately explained the actions of the Marquis family.
Tell Your Friends