History Film / ThePaleBlueEye

''The Pale Blue Eye'' is a 2022 Murder Mystery film adaptation of Louis Bayard's 2003 novel of the same name. It is written and directed by Scott Cooper and stars Creator/ChristianBale, Creator/HarryMelling, Creator/GillianAnderson, Creator/TobyJones, Creator/LucyBoynton, Creator/TimothySpall, and Creator/RobertDuvall.

* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler: Of the cadets who raped Mattie, Stoddard ends up the sole survivor by the end of the film.]] This differs from the book where [[spoiler: Stoddard's killed in Baltimore not long after fleeing West Point (and it's implied -- or at least Landor thinks -- his killer was Poe).]]

* HollywoodSatanism: Rushed clichéd ceremonies underline the whole sub-plot the occult, it's partly justified by the people taking part in these ceremonies are just following a book, a book written by a [[TheWitchHunter Witchhunter]] and therefore would make sure said ceremonies are as "Unchristian" as possible.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: [[spoiler: Landor uses this to 'persuade' Ballinger to give up the name of Mattie's final rapist (Stoddard).]]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Fry, Ballinger, and Stoddard had raped Landor's daughter, driving her to suicide, so it's pretty easy to see why Landor wanted to murder them. However, it's deconstructed in that Poe is left disillusioned by a man of the law like Landor resorting to vigilante killings when he could have just gotten them arrested.]]

* OutsideContextProblem: Serial killers operating within West Point is something Thayer nad Hitchcok are ill-prepared to handle, hence Landor's recruitment.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:The boys Landor murdered had raped Landor's daughter, driving her to suicide. However, it's deconstructed in that Poe is left disillusioned by a man of the law like Landor resorting to vigilante killings when he could have just gotten them arrested.]]

* {{Diary}}: Fry kept one, which Landor and Poe both examine to try and find potential clues to the murders. [[spoiler: As the actual murderer, Landor really wanted to examine the diary in the hopes of learning the identities of Mattie's other rapists. It pays off, leading him to Ballinger next.]]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:The murder victims raped Landor's daughter, driving her to suicide. However, it's deconstructed in that Poe is left disillusioned by a man of the law like Landor resorting to vigilante killings when he could have just gotten them arrested.]]

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler: All of Landor's scenes in the film are completely re-contextualized after the reveal that he was the real killer all along. Landor's exhaustion and confusion in the opening scenes, for example, are now revealed to stem from his having been up all night after killing Fry and fearing he'd been somehow found out by the military authorities. Landor's also genuinely baffled by the theft of Fry's heart and is trying to figure out what the hell's going on here -- and if he can somehow use this to both conceal his involvement and continue learning who else had raped Mattie.]]

Discovering that the suicide was actually a murder, Landor becomes drawn into a complex hunt for potential occultists operating in the shadow, or even within, the Academy itself. Landor is also aided in his investigation by a young cadet and aspiring poet named Creator/EdgarAllanPoe.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: [[spoiler: Before killing them, Landor made sure Fry and Ballinger ''didn't'' invoke this trope and remembered damm well who Mattie was and what they'd done to her.]]
* CruelMercy: See Aborted Arc.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Mattie by her rape. It's also implied, or at least left amibguious, in the final scene that Landor's going to do the same.]]

* EagleEyeDetection: Gus Landor swifty picks up on subtle clues, such as noticing Lea is ill after only a single meal with her. Mr Poe is no slouch either but we see him develop this skill throughout the film.

* HiredToHuntYourself: A very complicated example. [[spoiler: Landor is initially called in to West Point to investigate Fry's death. Up to this point, Thayer, Hitchock, and Dr. Marquis all believe -- mutilation aside -- it was a suicide and have no reason to think it was a murder, meaning Landor's in the clear. However, Landor then invokes this trope by 'deducing' Fry was actually murdered. He outs 'himself' and exploits the Trope because he sees an opportunity to conceal his involvement, frame another guilty party, and use the investigation as a means to learn the identities of Mattie's other rapists.]]

* Fingore: When observing the body of poor cadet Leroy Fry, Landor notices something held tightly in his rigor mortis fists. Next thing we hear is him cracking open his fingers to find a hidden message.

* SpottingTheThread: [[spoiler: Part of how Poe eventually figures out Landor was the real killer because he belatedly realizes Landor's handwriting is identical to the handwriting on the note fragment they recovered from Fry's corpse.]]

* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: The suicide of a West Point Cadet leads to the discovery of Satanists operating at the heart of America's military institution. [[spoiler: Except it's mostly a lie and frame-up orchestrated by Landor.]]

* RevengeBeforeReason: Invoked in the climax after [[spoiler: Poe learns what the murdered cadets did to Mattie. Poe doesn't understand why Landor didn't just go to Thayer to get justice for Mattie. After all, Landor had evidence (Fry's dog tags) that Thayer ''couldn't'' ignore and it would've forced the Commandant to confront and elicit a confession from the cadets. Landor explains he ''didn't'' want Fry and his friends to confess; he wanted them ''dead'' and to suffer just like his daughter did.]]

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler: All of Landor's scenes in the film take on different context after the reveal that he was the real killer all along. Landor's exhaustion and confusion in the opening scenes, for example, stem from his having been up all night after killing Fry and fearing he'd been somehow found out by the authorities. Landor's also genuinely baffled by the theft of Fry's heart and is trying to figure out what the hell's going on here -- and if he can somehow use this to both conceal his involvement and continue learning who else had raped Mattie.]]

** Much of the film's plot only happens because [[spoiler: Landor's murder of Fry was accidentally interrupted by a night watchman before he could finish his interrogation and learn who else had raped Mattie.]]

* XanatosSpeedChess: [[spoiler: Landor's early scenes become this on a re-watch, as he's maneuvering to conceal his involvement in Fry's death and use the 'investigation' to frame another party and continue to learn the identities of Mattie's other rapists.]]

* ButForMeItWasTuesday:[[spoiler: Before killing them, Landor made sure Fry and Ballinger ''didn't'' invoke this trope and remembered damm well who Mattie was and what they'd done to her.]]