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The Pale Blue Eye

The Pale Blue Eye

Thriller · Crime · Horror · 2022

West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New York City constable Augustus Landor to investigate. While attempting to solve this grisly mystery, the reluctant detective engages the help of one of the cadets: a strange but brilliant young fellow by the name of Edgar Allan Poe.

Movie details

The Pale Blue Eye

“Every heart tells a tale.”

2022 Thriller · Crime · Horror 2h 8m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New York City constable Augustus Landor to investigate. While attempting to solve this grisly mystery, the reluctant detective engages the help of one of the cadets: a strange but brilliant young fellow by the name of Edgar Allan Poe.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Pale Blue Eye?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Scott Cooper

Written by

Scott Cooper

Christian Bale

Christian Bale

Augustus Landor

Harry Melling

Harry Melling

Edgar Allan Poe

Lucy Boynton

Lucy Boynton

Lea Marquis

Toby Jones

Toby Jones

Dr. Daniel Marquis

Simon McBurney

Simon McBurney

Captain Hitchcock

Timothy Spall

Timothy Spall

Superintendent Thayer

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall

Jean-Pepe

Court is in session

Put The Pale Blue Eye on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Cool Ironist

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.