This new Netflix release in set in West Point Academy, New York, in 1830. A cadet is found murdered and world weary veteran detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) is asked to investigate. Finding that the other recruits do not want to co-operate, he enlists one of their own, Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling), to help him.
This is a film that started off excellently. We are quickly into the mystery as Landor meets the senior officers and the doctor at the academy. As those roles are played by British acting stalwarts Timothy Spall, Simon McBurney and Toby Jones, those scenes are particularly enjoyable. Then as the plot veers possibly into the occult things become more intriguing. However, a subplot of Poe wooing the doctor’s daughter slows things down a bit, and after the mystery seems to be pleasingly resolved and the film really should have ended, we get another twist that did not feel necessary.
Still, the performances, particularly by Bale and Jones, are all good and the period trappings are impressive.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10