The Pale Blue Eye Interview: Scott Cooper on Crafting an Edgar Allan Poe Origin Story

When one thinks about Edgar Allan Poe, odds are, they’re not picturing a warm and witty young man with a big heart and passion for poetry. But, that’s how the literary iconic is presented in Scott Cooper’s adaptation of Louis Bayard’s The Pale Blue Eye because the film is an Edgar Allan Poe origin story. The film begins with a very curious crime. It’s 1830 and a West Point cadet is found dead. After being transported to the morgue, someone skillfully removes and takes the cadet’s heart. In an effort to find out who’s behind this savagery, a local detective is brought in to investigate, Christian Bale’s August Landor. When Landor struggles to get information from the other cadets, he opts to turn to one of their own for help, a young Edgar Allan Poe played by Harry Melling. With The Pale Blue Eye playing in select theaters and due out on Netflix on January 6th, I got the chance to have a spoiler-free chat with Cooper about his experience bringing this story to screen. #christianbale #netfl