Parent reviews for The Pale Blue Eye

It has been ages since there's been an American movie worth watching for me and my family so this was just a treat!! Not only was the casting epic (love Christian Bale) all the other cast members were very good, the music, setting, directing and the story were all top notch. Content wise it's an Edger Allen Poe type dark drama/crime/thriller - so if you don't like that type of thing go watch Avengers I guess. Personally I love the snowy, grim, 1800s American setting and the story was great w/decent plot surprises. The only (very minor) parental guide things to note (outside occasional profanity) are 1) Towards the end of the movie there's ~7 seconds of a silhouetted/dark alley lead into a implied/pending rape scene (can't see anything, no nudity) and 2) Two scenes when main character lying in bed with "bar maid" friend implying adult activities - but they are only talking in these scenes (important plot related stuff) and no real nudity. I'm pretty strict w/this stuff but scenes are safe imo as long as your kids understand the evils of premarital relations/importance of marriage, etc. 3) A few seconds of blood/guts from the morgue/murder scenes Sure hope Hollywood gets the message that audiences want good movies and less propaganda/bs! Until they make another one or Oppenheimer comes out it's back to Korean/foreign films for me. I also see CommonSenseMedia flagged this movie for "Concern re: Diverse Representations" but obviously ignore that - this movie is great all around! 8/10 or 5 stars!

This movie centers on everything our troubled world needs less of: murder, rape, evil rituals, revenge, and violence. While it did have the potential to be a thrilling "who done it?" type story, any bit of fun was lost when the story plunged far too dark. Let's put it this way: If you let your kids watch it, they will come crying to you about their movie-induced nightmares. If you let yourself watch it, you will go crying to your therapist about your movie-induced nightmares. Although I can give credit to the cast and crew for successfully creating a dark, moody atmosphere with the use of shadow, candlelight, snow, and the soundtrack, this just combined with the plot line to create a joyless, hope-devoid, desolate dystopia. You well definitely leave this movie feeling worse than you came. Now I could say more, but I need to call my therapist to help me recover from this scarring obscenity.

Great cast heads up this wintry, mysterious, period piece with plot twists and quirky characters. 15+ because there are some graphic, post-murder scenes,. In my opinion there wasn’t anything too shocking or inappropriate especially compared to what’s in movies these days. There is no on-screen killing and only references to any indiscretions. It resembles something you might watch on PBS; slow pace, etc. so if that’s not your cup of tea you might not want to invest 2hrs. My teens weren’t interested.