Netlfix’s The Pale Blue Eye began showing in select theaters a couple of weeks ago but will hit the streaming platform this Friday. The chiller-thriller is set at West Point Academy in the winter of 1830, where a detective by the name of Landor investigates a strange murder. Netflix’s new featurette reveals the crews’ admiration for each other, with Scott Cooper having particular praise for lead actors Christian Bale and Harry Melling:

The other films Scott Cooper and Christian Bale collaborated on include Out of the Furnace and Hostiles. On the other hand, Cooper hardly knew who Harry Melling was when he cast him in the film, having only seen him in a small role in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. However, Cooper has since praised Melling, both as an actor and as a person, and hopes he lands more roles.

“This is the third film that I have written expressly for Christian. He tends to embody my characters in ways that frankly other actors couldn’t… Harry Melling well beyond my imagination, bringing the Poe that I envisioned to life. I’ve just been so fortunate in this to be able to cast actors that I’ve long admired.”

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Harry Melling commended the set design, claiming that “every day you walk onto set and you’re just stepping back in time.” The featurette also teases the English actor’s Southern accent in a film that puts much of the cast in the shoes of characters thousands of miles - and hundreds of years - from their homes.

Christian Bale Says You Don’t Need to Read Edgar Allan Poe to Enjoy the Film

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The film is based on a book by Loius Bayard in 2003, which was influenced by the writings of American author Edgar Allan Poe in the 1800s. Poe is often credited as the inventor of the mystery and horror genres by many people, including the director Scott Cooper himself. The film depicts a fictionalized version of Poe, played by Harry Melling, although his character is based on what we know of Poe’s personality.

Christian Bale says the film will appeal not only to Poe fans but also to people unfamiliar with the legendary author:

So, if you know nothing about Edgar Allan Poe or haven’t read anything by him, you might want to check out The Pale Blue Eye when it begins streaming on Netflix on Jan. 6, 2023. It stars Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Robert Duvall, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, and Toby Jones. Scott Cooper directed the film in addition to writing the screenplay. You can watch the full featurette below:

“It’s something where you can have zero knowledge of Poe and just enjoy it for a detective thriller. If you are a Poe fan, holy crap, you know, this is just a goldmine.”