Movie Conventions Research: The Pale Blue Eye

Welcome back to my blog. This movie follows some of the conventions of mystery movies, but it also goes against many common conventions. Most of the story-based elements discussed in our genre research, like an enclosed area or wealth as a motive, were not present in this film. More specifically, in the case of going against the convention of enclosed areas, the movie has many outdoor shots spanning wide areas, including wide shots of dozens of men in the forest. Instead of wealth as a motive, the movie had revenge as a main motive for the killings. The biggest example of breaking conventions was the twist at the end of the movie. While having a twist is common, this particular instance was not, as it was revealed that the detective was the killer. Despite this, many of the other elements of mystery movies were there in abundance. First off, the movie made use of dim lighting. Often, the only light present in a room was a single candle. This lighting also casts shadows on the actors' faces, accentuating many of the emotions they were already portraying. Even during outdoors scenes, it was not unusual to see an abundance of fog or mist blanketing the area. Sound was also used to create emotions in the viewer. The movie had non-diegetic sound, like ominous and dramatic music throughout, even at the very beginning. This music serves to create an uneasy feeling, that makes certain scenes feel even more powerful. The movie also used diegetic sound, like the blowing of the wind, to create an eerie feeling in the viewer. Something else used in this and other mystery movies, is foreshadowing. A perfect example of this is when the detective asks a witness, “Did you see anyone else about?” as if he was trying to solve the murder, when in reality, he was determining whether he had been seen committing the crime. One final thing that this movie has in common with other mystery movies is a tracking shot that follows the detective as they try to figure something else. In this movie, however, the character being followed by the camera is not the detective assigned to solve the murder but is instead a character who acts like a detective, despite not being one. This character is Edgar A. Poe, who eventually becomes the one to uncover the true killer, the detective. Overall, we liked the plot elements that the movie had that went against traditional conventions. However, we preferred technical elements like camera angles and lighting that followed the conventions of mystery movies. There weren’t many elements of mystery the movie had that we didn’t like. We only had minor complaints about the lighting, as it was sometimes too dark to see.