The Pale Blue Eye : Scott Cooper

The film's story begins with the body of USMA Cadet Leroy Fry, who is saw-hung. The USMA requested retired investigator Augustus Landor to check into the situation. He is a widower who has been on his own since his daughter Mattie moved out several years earlier. After witnessing Cadet Fry being hanged, they found that his heart had been removed from his body.

Then, as they examined Cadet Fry's body in the morgue, they saw a tiny note fragment tightly clutched in his palm. In addition, they observed a marking on several of Cadet Fry's body parts, indicating that he was murdered rather than taking his own life.

The detective then requests aid from Edgar Allan Poe, a cadet at the USMA. Edgar Allan Poe shows interest in the investigation, so they work together to solve the crime. When they started to monitor and explore the area, they found a sheep and a cow that had been killed and had their hearts taken out, which made them think that the crime might have been connected to local black magic rituals.

The case was successfully investigated, and numerous people were suspected of being involved, including the Marquis family, who performed Cadet Fry's body autopsy. The offspring of Dr. Marquis include a daughter named Lea and a son named Artemus, who experiences unpredictable seizures. Landor thinks the doctor heals both of his children by performing Black Rituals using the victims' hearts.

Edgar Allan Poe was mesmerized by Lea's beauty until he realized he was high and witnessed Artemus and Lea getting ready to sever Poe's heart. Lea and Artemus will eventually be cured by executing this ceremony. Artemus and Lea had already passed away when Landor finally arrived and rescued Poe from the burning building.

After a while, Edgar Allan Poe confronts Landor when the USMA thinks the case has been solved, pointing out that the letter fragment he found in Cadet Fry's handwriting resembled Landor's. According to the evidence he independently gathered, Landor was the actual murderer.

It was found that Fry and two other suspects had sexually molested Landor Mattie's daughter. Mattie jumped from a cliff as a means of suicide due to her suffering. After learning that Landor killed the suspects for her daughter, Poe informs Landor that he has two letters with handwriting samples that potentially link to the murder case before letting Edgar Allan Poe burn the letters, though.

This tragic tale suggests that specific stories can be excessively depressing and that some people may not receive just compensation, particularly those their loved ones abandoned. However, putting justice in your hands was never appropriate; using violence to solve any issue only briefly satisfied your sense of fairness. I thought Landor's sorrow over what happened to his daughter was tragic and couldn't be understood in this particular circumstance. If he can't do it for himself, he will strive to live morally gradually out of concern for her daughter.

The movie taught us that we should not put justice in our hands because it is incorrect. There is always the right approach to every problem without violating other people's rights. As a cadet, I advise that we engage more in films that will challenge our critical thinking abilities and require us to discuss the possible outcomes with our classmates. In addition, I encouraged them to write or submit movie reviews based on their interpretations of each film they saw in class.

References:

• https://www.jordanmposs.com/blog/2023/2/12/the-pale-blue-eye

• https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3746196/the-pale-blue-eye-how-the-netflix-movie-partially-captures-the-dark-heart-of-its-source-material/