The Pale Blue Eye

Louis Bayard's novel inspired the mystery-thriller film, The Pale Blue Eye, which Scott Cooper directed. The movie's story, set in 1830, centers on the murder of the United States Military Academy Cadets. The task of looking into the killings is given to Augustus Landor. Edgar Allan Poe, who is then a young Cadet in the Academy, offers Augustus assistance with this research.

Cadet Leroy Fry was the first victim mentioned in the film. Cadet Fry's heart was cut out of his body after he was hanged. As Landor investigated Fry's body, he discovered a little note fragment that had been tightly gripped. Cadet Ballinger, another cadet, goes missing and is subsequently found hanging with his heart and genitalia taken. Augustus assumes that a third Cadet, Stoddard, a coworker of the two fatalities, had reason to believe he was the next in line to be assassinated. Augustus starts to think that devil worship and witchcraft are involved as the hearts of the victim's bodies have been removed. Since Edgar had a link to both victims, Augustus' superiors at the United States Military Academy argued that he should be treated as a suspect.

The two are particularly interested in Daniel Marquis, the Academy's doctor, and his family. Later in the film, it was revealed that Daniel Marquis' family had been behind the cadet's internal organ disappearance to use them as a sacrifice to treat her daughter's illness. Lea is in the middle of the ceremony when Augustus Landor learns where they are after interrogating Daniel Marquis.

The structure was set on fire during the rescue operation, and a piece of falling debris killed Lea and his brother. The US Military Academy believed the problem was resolved after the incident and thanked Augustus for his assistance. Still, Edgar Poe later discovered that the letters in Fry's hand were identical to those of Augustus. Edgar confronted Augustus about his findings. After forming a father-son bond and sympathizing with Landor over Mattie, Poe burns the two notes, the only evidence that Landor is guilty. Feeling somewhat at peace, Landor returns to the cliff where Mattie died and released her hair ribbon, saying, "Rest, my love."[1]

Pale Blue Eyes provides a unique perspective on two approaches driven by the same goal. They desire to sacrifice anything for their kids. Lea's illness had been treated medically to the fullest extent possible by Dr. Daniel Marquis. Lea's devil worship, meanwhile, appeared to be having an effect, so Daniel decided to keep up the ceremonies because he wanted his daughter to live. A passion for vengeance for his daughter, Mattie's rape, and subsequent suicide possessed Augustus Landor, who had already lost his daughter two years before the events in The Pale Blue Eye.

The moral lesson I learned from this movie is that we all have loved ones in our lives, and let us not use this as a justification for getting revenge. Let justice do it's work rather than trying to fix the problem ourselves, which will only worsen other innocent people's lives. Last but not least, this movie taught me that love is a powerful feeling that can drive someone to act against their better judgment to protect their loved ones.

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[1]Guardian News and Media. (2023, January 1). The Pale Blue Eye Review – Starry Gothic Mystery Loses Its Way. The Guardian. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jan/01/the-pale-blue-eye-review-young-edgar-allan-poe-christian-bale-gillian-anderson-starry-gothic-mystery-loses-its-way