The Pale Blue Eye, a Netflix murder mystery film based on the Louis Bayard novel of the same name, follows Detective Augustus Landor, who is tasked with looking into the death of cadet at the United States Military Academy Leroy Fry, whose heart was mysteriously stolen from his dead corpse. To solve the mystery surrounding the incident, Landor links up with young cadet and poet Edgar Allan Poe, and their investigation uncovers another murder that takes place close to the Academy. The Scott Cooper-directed film, which stars Christian Bale as Landor and Harry Melling as Poe, advances through the revelations the two make that alter their lives as well. If you’re interested in a lengthy explanation of the film’s shocking twist, you’ve come to the correct spot. Spoilers follow.
The Pale Blue Eye Plot Synopsis
The Pale Blue Eye Plot Summary In order to look into Leroy Fry’s strange murder, Augustus Landor is sent to the Military Academy by Captain Hitchcock at the beginning of “The Pale Blue Eye.” Landor was informed by Hitchcock and Superintendent Thayer that Fry had been hung, taken to the academy, and then had his heart severed. It doesn’t take Landor long to discover that Fry was killed. In one of the deceased cadet’s hands, he also finds a piece of paper. In order to investigate the murder, Landor hooks up with a cadet named Edgar Allan Poe. They both hypothesise that Fry was summoned to the crime scene by an unknown person who may have been the murderer.
Meanwhile, a number of sheep and cows are slain nearby, and their remains—without hearts—are discovered. The finding prompts Landor and Poe to look into any possible connections between Fry’s murder and the mutilation of livestock and occult or religious acts. After coming across a symbol while conducting the investigation, Landor runs into one of his friends, who makes the connection between the symbol and the heart thefts and the occult practises described in Henri le Clerc’s “Discours du Diable,” which instructs readers to carry out rituals in order to achieve immortality. The son of Academy doctor Daniel Marquis, Artemus Marquis, is a friend of Poe’s in the meantime.
Poe soon meets up with Lea Marquis, Artemus’ sister, who is struggling with a mystery illness that puts her life in danger. Poe learns that the Marquises participate in non-Christian traditions through his interactions with other cadets, and he also notifies Landor of this. Landor discovers a rare copy of “Discours du Diable” in Daniel’s library while having dinner with the Marquis family. He then goes upstairs and discovers Artemus’ coat, which was worn by the person who stole Fry’s heart. For the sake of his daughter Lea, who thinks that an arcane procedure involving human hearts might offer her immortality, Daniel is honest about taking Fry’s heart out.
In the meantime, Randolph Ballinger, another cadet, is discovered dead in the area of the academy with his heart severed from his body. Lea takes Poe into a secluded room within the establishment and begins to cut open Poe’s heart as part of the occult ritual as Landor investigates the murder. Before Artemus and Lea could assassinate Poe, the detective arrives on the scene. Lea and Artemus perish in the barn where the exercise is being done but Landor saves Poe. Captain Hitchcock and Superintendent Thayer are persuaded by the detective that the two cadets’ sister and brother were the murderers.
The Pale Blue Eye Ending: Who is the Killer?
Leroy Fry and Randolph Ballinger’s killer is detective Augustus Landor. Landor accuses them of killing Lea and Artemus after their deaths. Given that they hired him to extract the heart from Fry’s dead body, the detective doesn’t have to work hard to persuade Daniel that his kids killed the two cadets. Landor has been attempting to hide the killings he had done by fabricating a story that two dead people, who cannot refute his claims or arguments, are the culprits. For raping his daughter Mattie, the investigator has been pursuing revenge on Fry and Ballinger.
Before Fry was killed, Landor discovered Mattie in trouble in the woods. She told him that some cadets had raped her. She carried home a chain that belonged to one of the cadets with the initials “LF,” despite being unable to identify the perpetrators. The link brought Landor to Fry, who then killed the cadet. The cadet was keen about shielding his two accomplices in the rape of Mattie, though. Fry’s mother gives Landor the dead cadet’s diary when his search for the other offenders comes to a dead end, and this diary directs Landor to Ballinger. The detective murders Ballinger after determining he is the second rapist, but not before making sure Stoddard is the third cadet in the bunch.
If the cadet hadn’t understood that his life was in danger after seeing Fry and Ballinger die and decided to flee the institution, Landor might have killed Stoddard. Landor killed Fry by hanging him in an effort to pass it off as a suicide. He was unaware that Lea and Artemus were preparing to take the dead cadet’s heart from his body. Landor understands that another door has opened for him to separate himself from the killings when Daniel took the heart and Fry’s death became a mystery. By deliberately removing Ballinger’s heart in addition to the sheep and cows, he added an occult element to the deaths.
He has the chance to assign Lea and Artemus the blame for Fry and Ballinger’s deaths thanks to the occult activities taking place in the Marquis home. Coincidentally, Landor’s allegations and story are further strengthened by the siblings’ plot to murder Poe. The renowned detective succeeds in deceiving the legal system but fails to deceive his protégé Poe. For the detective to comprehend that the handwriting in both notes is the same, the poet compares the note found in Fry’s hand to another note the detective has retained. He discovers all the details of Mattie’s rape and subsequent suicide with Patsy’s assistance. Poe then makes the connection and learns that Landor was the author of the letter to Fry, which introduced him to the detective and ultimately resulted in his demise.
Does Augustus Landor Die?
After Mattie’s death, Landor dedicates his life to exacting revenge. He exacts his retribution on Fry and Ballinger in an effort to find some measure of solace in the ominous recollections of his daughter. Landor eventually ends up near the cliff where Mattie plunged to her death, but even after the deaths of two of the three rapists, he is unable to settle down. He asks Mattie to finally relax as he has avenged the tragedy that befell her by freeing a piece of clothing that belonged to her. The detective might hang himself by jumping off the cliff because he has nothing and no one else to live for.
Landor has uncovered the truth in numerous high-profile instances that were thought to be unsolvable. Being a killer is unacceptable for such a man. Instead of saying that he lacks the will and will to perform a third murder, Landor would have murdered the third rapist Stoddard if he had been able to reconcile himself with his murderous nature. Daniel will have to live with the misconception that his two children were murders, thus it must be difficult for Landor to accept himself and the consequences of his acts, which had a negative impact on many people, including Daniel.
Landor may follow his daughter to meet her in the hereafter because the movie finishes with him standing at the edge of the cliff, facing the woods, exactly as Mattie did before jumping off to her death. Instead of the pain of continuing to live as a murderer and the agonising memories of his daughter, Landor may realise that death is the easiest thing to accept.
What Does Poe Burn Down? Why?
Poe meets the detective after learning that Landor is the real murderer; the detective makes no further attempt to trick the young poet. Poe must decide whether to report the investigator to the police or protect him by remaining silent after hearing Landor admit to killing both Fry and Ballinger. Landor hasn’t just been some random elderly man who hired Poe as his assistant, in Poe’s opinion. It is more difficult for Poe to turn the detective in to the authorities because the detective has always sought to protect him, even when he has been lying to the latter.
Landor agrees to the risk of incarceration and the death penalty when Poe learns the truth. Landor makes it obvious to Poe that he should use the scrap of paper and the message he left for the detective to show that the latter is the murderer because he doesn’t have anything to live for. Poe receives the note from Landor, who then hands it to him so that he can give it to the police. Poe destroys the note, though, making it impossible to establish that the detective killed Fry and Ballinger. Poe may have come to the realisation that he lacks the emotional fortitude to carry his father figure to the stake, leading him to destroy the vital proof.
Poe has only seen hardships since enrolling at the Military Academy. He has stood out from his friends and hasn’t always shown his teachers and superiors that he is the smartest soldier in the army. But unlike them all, Landor recognises Poe’s abilities and promise, which inspires the detective to hire the young poet as his assistant. Poe might not want to repay Landor’s generosity by reporting him to the law. Nevertheless, the detective receives his farewell as payback for his deceit, which may have influenced Landor’s choice to kill himself.
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