On January 6, a new detective thriller starring Christian Bale became available for viewing on Netflix. This is a 2003 adaptation of Louis Bayard’s novel of the same name. In the review below, we consider whether the creators of the film managed to intrigue well and at the same time convey the gloomy atmosphere of the original source.

Genre thriller, detective
Director Scott Cooper
In roles Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Lucy Boynton, Toby Jones, Gillian Anderson, Robert Duvall
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2023
Site IMDb

1830, West Point, New York. Retired constable Augustus Landor walks along the river among the snow-covered forest hills. Near his poor house, he meets Captain Hitchcock – one of the chief officers of the local military academy. The latter reports that the case urgently needs Landor’s detective skills.

Already within the walls of the academy, the veteran detective gets to know Colonel Thayer. From that he learns that at night one of the cadets named Leroy Fry was hanged from a branch, and someone also cut out his heart. As a result, Landor agrees to cooperate and soon takes the young but talented cadet Edgar Allan Poe as his assistant.

After the hit “Ford vs. Ferrari” Christian Bale disappeared from the radar somewhere, but already in 2022 he returned immediately with several interesting roles. However, last year cannot be called unequivocally successful for the actor. “Thor: Love and Thunder” by Taika Waititi and especially “Amsterdam” by David O. Russell did not live up to the expectations of many viewers and critics. Although Bale himself played very well in both films, as always.

But “The All-Seeing Eye” is seen as a somewhat more modest project compared to the above-mentioned works. This is an adaptation of a successful detective novel, which, although it has a strong cast, barely pulls the status of a blockbuster with a loud poster. That’s why the release on streaming, not counting the limited rental at the end of last year, seems like a good decision.

For the writer and director Scott Cooper, the film becomes the third joint work with Bale after “From Hell” and “Enemies”. This is an exemplary and fairly accurate screen adaptation that respects the original source. Here, Cooper can easily feel like an inveterate excellent student who had a good feel for the literary material and professionally adapted it to the cinema screen.

But such exemplaryness has the reverse side of the coin, because for those viewers who are familiar with Bayard’s work, this tape has no intrigue. The screenwriter limited himself to small changes that do not affect the general content of the novel, and therefore, the detective component has not changed either. So no surprises should be expected.

The only exception can be considered the need to squeeze Bayard’s verbosity into the standard two hours of running time. And the atmosphere is perfectly reproduced here. It is an almost endless winter gloom, multiplied by Gothic mystery and some unpredictability. The latter is possible only if the viewer has not read the novel.

Masanobu Takanaga’s camera is relatively minimalistic and devoid of unnecessary movements. She prefers to approach at a distance no closer than the middle plans to the actors and stubbornly shoots both snow-covered cold landscapes and dark rooms poorly lit by a few candles.

Such a contrast of light and dark can be considered a symbol of the main character’s character. He seems like a nice person, but the dark corners of his tired soul must also be fully revealed.

Christian Bale perfectly portrays a confident, yet jaded detective who knows what he’s doing. The choice of Gary Melling seems to be an equally good candidate for the role of the fragile one. In the book, this character has a lot of artistry, so to some extent the role turns out to be more difficult than Bale’s part. However, the young actor decently embodies the young poet on the screen, not to mention that he fits the type.

In general, despite the need to put the necessary material into 120 minutes, the creators offer a not very lively pace of the story. He can be described as calm, poised, and he clearly suits the film.

However, Cooper’s ambitions appeal to the maximum to adequately transfer the events of the novel to the screen. They consciously refuse to present anything to the viewer that is separate from the original source.

“The All-Seeing Eye” is a strong detective thriller, which is absolutely nothing to watch for those who know how the book ended. Otherwise, the film may even seem more interesting, but you still don’t have to wait for the desired suspense, as well as genre revelations. For Bale’s filmography, the cinema is completely passable, unable to shake the viewer’s heart.

Pros:
an authentic atmosphere that conveys the spirit of the original source well, a good cast (92-year-old veteran Robert Duvall even played a small role), an appropriate pace of the story, perhaps some unpredictability for those who have not read the novel

Cons:
the absolute absence of any intrigue and distinct suspense for viewers familiar with Bayard’s book. This is the only minus worth paying attention to, but very significant

Conclusion:
The All-Seeing Eye deserves one viewing, and it’s a solid example of the genre. Good actors, winter gloom and a sense of threat lurking somewhere nearby do their job. But this is a kind of margin of safety for a detective