The Pale Blue Eye: Christian Bale explains why you’ll need to watch his new movie twice

The Pale Blue Eye is a historical murder-mystery with twists, turns, and a sting in its tale – here, star Christian Bale reveals why you’ll need to watch the movie twice.

Written and directed by Scott Cooper – and based on the novel of the same name by Louis Bayard – The Pale Blue eye is a whodunit with a synopsis as follows…

West Point, 1830. A world-weary detective is hired to discreetly investigate the gruesome murder of a cadet. Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case – a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.

There are allusions to Poe’s work laced throughout the story, from a raven appearing, to human hearts playing a prominent role. We asked Christian Bale (who plays the detective in question), and Harry Melling (who plays Poe), what else audiences should look out for while watching The Pale Blue Eye.

Edgar Allen Poe Easter Eggs in The Pale Blue Eye

Bale points to the name of the movie being from Poe, stating: “Obviously the title comes from The Tell-Tale Heart that Poe wrote.”

In that story, the narrator kills an old man, with one of his motives being the old man’s creepy eye. Poe writes: “One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture – a pale blue eye, with a film over it.”

Other more general details in the movie are ripped from the horror author’s work, with Bale listing: “An interest in the supernatural and the occult and the grisly murders and the detective story.”

Harry Melling points to a name that appears in both the movie and Poe’s stories: “Leonor – there’s many Leonors scattered throughout his poetry. There’s more pieces scattered within. I’ve got to see it again now to really… the world felt so rich I’m sure there’s pieces scattered here, there, and everywhere.”

Why you need to watch the movie twice

Regarding those scattered pieces, Bale said of the director: “Scott Cooper the director made a real effort to make it enjoyable for a second viewing as well, so that once you’ve seen it the first time, you can go back and see little crumbs that have given you hints throughout the film which is just wonderful and enjoyable.”

The Pale Blue Eye hits select US cinemas tomorrow (December 23) and will be streaming on Netflix from January 6.