A Pale Blue Eye is a Dark Slow Dream

A Pale Blue Eye, the new film on Netflix, is a slow burn with a good twist that is beautiful to watch. Based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard. This murder mystery set in the 1830s at West Point Academy along the Hudson River in Upstate New York is one of those movies that slowly pulls you into the mood. This is not an action movie in any way but a thinking movie where it gives you clues to solve the mystery slowly and tries to develop the characters (sometimes successfully and sometimes not enough) to draw you into the story.

The story takes a bit for you to engage with, but when it does, it pulls you into a tale worth your time. The threads of the plot may at first seem raggedy and bare, but by the end, it is woven into a well-crafted mystery with a few surprises. It is a thinking movie with clues everywhere if you know where to look, and after seeing it, you may want to go back and see where they are in various places. There is even a great nod to Edgar Allen Poe's future writing with a great shot of a raven.

The film starring Christian Bale as the widowed detective and Harry Melling as his young assistant, namely one Edgar Allen Poe, are tasked with solving grisly murders of cadets from the famous academy. The performances of both actors are impeccable. Harry Melling's Poe is engaging and delicious, making you understand the future romantic writer's background. And as always, Christian Bale puts every bit of his soul into everything he does. His transformative acting always surprises. Here, he is dark and foreboding with angst from the loss of his missing daughter. They carry this movie on their big broad shoulders effortlessly. Gillian Anderson is also featured in the film though her scenes are way too brief and few. I would have loved to have seen more of her in the story, as she is fabulous and commands every scene she is in. The rest of the cast is also excellent, with familiar faces and wonderful characters.

Where the film caught my eye from the very beginning is the amazing art direction. Everything is purposely in a pale blue pallet with splashes of diminished gold and hints of faded red. The film is dreamy and cold in its winter setting from beginning to end, consistent in its color pallet, with more red coming through towards the end when the plot unravels. Once I noticed the colors, I couldn't help looking at them as the film progressed. The costumes and millinery (hats), in particular, are also incredible, keeping with the same colors, and are works of art throughout. Even the hair design is fantastic, the women's styles are delicious, and after looking at a later photograph of Mr. Poe is duplicated his wild hair perfectly.

If I have anything negitive to say about A Pale Blue Eye, it would be that, at times, the film is too dark. It was hard to see a few of the scenes on my TV. I understand the desire to make them look like everything was lit by candlelight. And made the film feel like some of the famous writer's stories. But sometimes, a little artificial lighting would have helped. This film is slow and methodical in its storytelling and sometimes hard to understand due to accents and possibly heavy acting. But, as with Shakespeare's plays, you slip into the film's voice after a while, and the language becomes much clearer. A good friend suggested that putting the subtitles on might sometimes help you get through the language.

In the end, I enjoyed A Pale Blue Eye. It left me a bit haunted, as it should, making it have the feel of something Edgar Allen Poe might have had a hand in. The final reveal was not where it saw it going, which was a good thing, and it made me think about the film's plot and where I missed the clues, wanting me to rewatch it. Mr. Poe once "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream" it's a good quote for this film as it felt like a dream in all the right ways. This is a well, crafted film worth a gander.

Matilda is a magical film is enchanting, and delicious

Matilda The Musical is a new film on Netflix that has renewed my faith that a stage production can translate to a screen beautifully. This screen adaptation of a Broadway hit musical that was itself an interpretation of a movie based on a 1988 book by Ronald Dahl had a long road to get to the screen. (whew, that is a mouthful!) Starting as a trial run at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London in 2011 and transferring to the West End before debuting on Broadway in 2013. It took a further nine years for Matilda The Musical to finally get its chance on the big screen for a few weeks, then arriving on Netflix on Christmas Day. This movie is energetic, funny, and poignant. It will make you laugh and want to dance and then happy cry within minutes of each other. From beginning to end, it is a joy to watch.

Ronald Dhal has created some of the most beloved stories of the late 20th century, including James and the Giant Peach and the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Matilda was written later in his life but still has the quirky charm and slightly dark edges of his early works. Of course, there are the familiar creepy characters and ridiculous plots with moments of pure joy and wonder that all of Dhal's writings envelope. But Matilda brings those ideas to a more modern era. This little girl's imagination will pull you into an engaging story full of delightful stories and strife.

The performances are all top-notch. Especially Emma Thompson's Head Schoolmistress is memorizing. I was a little concerned, as on the stage, the headmistress was traditionally played by a man in ridiculous costumes and big wigs, making her character completely over the top. Sometimes Hollywood's casting of shoving in a "big Star" into a film to bring in more of an audience often backfires spectacularly. In this case, Thompson's performance is well warranted, and the change is the standout of the entire film. She is hysterically funny in her evilness. You can't help but watch her every move. Not that the other performers aren't phenomenal too. Alisha Weir as Matilda is deliciously fun and makes you want to give her the biggest hug ever. Lashana Lynch's Miss Honey is perfectly sweet. (See how I did that!). Matilda's parents are wonderfully terrible, and the massive cast of children all have their own fantastic personalities making for a rich and wonderful complete picture.

The choreography is done by the original chorographers from the stage production and brilliantly transferred to the screen. The dances pop with energy and clever moves that is taking social media by storm. You can't help seeing the girl with the red beret spinning her way across TikTok. And no wonder they are absolutely enchanting and mesmerizing in their frenetic complexity. The sets are wonderfully done, making them feel right out of a children's book but real at the same time. And the costumes are phenomenal, too, with dark, drab gray and pops of color to emphasize moods and emotions.

It does take a moment to get into the film's speech as it is heavily accented English with high-voiced children, but after a moment, you slip into the movie's voice, and you are transferred into Matilda's fantastic imagination and her wonderful world. This is a delicious film that you can watch many times to find all the fun details and enjoy the romp through Ronald Dhal's vision brought to a musical spectacular. Matilda The Musical can be seen on Netflix right now.