Murders in the Military Academy

Although this movie had a brief theatrical run, I don't think it ever screened here in Madison. Drats!

Based on a novel, the movie is set in 1830 and concerns a retired(?) detective named Augustus Landor who is recruited by the heads of the U.S. Military Academy to investigate murder within its walls. Landor lives out in the boonies nearby. As his investigation proceeds, he enlists the help of one of the cadets there, an Edgar Allen Poe.

Poe is played by Harry Melling who, Wikipedia says, is Patrick Troughton's grandson. And here I am in media res of a Second Doctor marathon.

I very much enjoyed this murder mystery. The cinematography with its grey, gloomy, washed out look was perfect for a macabre tale inhabited by Poe. Toby Jones and Gillian Anderson play Mr. and Mrs. Marquis, a grotesque couple whose motives are neatly obscured. And the ending was wonderful.

My only complaint is that I wish we could have had more time exploring the accursed home of the Marquis family. Those characters were just a lot of fun to watch and I felt oddly short-changed when the movie was over.

Do catch it on Netflix.