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Edmond
DVD/APPROX. 79 MINS/2005/USA MA15+
DVD/APPROX. 79 MINS/2005/USA MA15+
7
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Edmond is a bleak, existential journey one man takes when he realizes his life is meaningless…
Edmond Burke decides he’s had enough of his boring, beige-colored, corporate life. Taking the advice of a psychic, he leaves his wife and his old life
behind to discover where he is really supposed to be. Unfortunately, his journey takes him into the seedy underground of the city, where in one
night he visits multiple bars, strip clubs, peep shows and massage parlors. Through his hellish journey, he finds the hookers too expensive, the
pimps violent and many a conman roaming the dirty streets. It seems everyone wants to take advantage of him, from the hookers to a man
running a card game con on the street. He is beaten and robbed, but keeps on roaming the streets searching for answers. In such a lonely, dog-
eat-dog world, Edmond finally snaps and ends up killing a woman and threatening others. He is sent to prison, where he has a lifetime to mull over
the philosophy of life that sent him to the brink of madness.
William H. Macy stars as Edmond, playing the same lost, lonely, sad and confused man he plays in almost every other film. Sure, he gives a
powerful performance, but it is one we have already seen in countless films. His Edmond is a pathetic sack of a man who does whatever people tell
him to do including following the psychic’s advice that he’s not in the right place in life and a man at a bar (played by Joe Mantegna) who tells him
to go get laid. He finally snaps when he realizes that the world outside of his white-bread upbringing is a mean place where people just use and
abuse each other.
The cast features many familiar faces, including Julia Stiles as a waitress he ends up sleeping with, Mena Suvari, Bai Ling and Denise Richards all as
hookers, Debi Mazar as a madam of a massage parlor, Jeffrey Combs as a hotel desk clerk and George Wendt as a pawn shop owner.
Unfortunately, these appearances are little more than cameos as Edmond wanders through the dangerous underbelly of the city and we don’t get
to see much these actors. This film is solely focused on Macy’s character.
That being said, this is much more a character-driven film than a horror movie. It was penned from a play by David Mamet and directed by Stuart
Gordon of Re-Animator fame. Don’t expect any over-the-top, gory, humorous horror here, though. Edmond’s level of violence doesn’t exceed a
couple of beatings and one killing, which happens off-screen. The horror here is much more psychological as Edmond’s sanity continues to slip.
Gordon, though, does a masterful job of directing the Mamet-penned emotional script and cinematographer Denis Maloney captures all the seedy
trashiness of Downtown.
This film won’t please a lot of horror fans because of its slow pace and lack of bloodshed. You will need some patience to view the film, but the
unsettling and uneven pace mirrors Edmond’s own psychological state of mind and is there for a reason. Fans of David Mamet films will find this
more their style, but Edmond should also hold some interest to those who enjoy psychological dramas about a person’s changing reality. Edmond
is an intriguing piece of cinema that forces you to examine your own life to see if you are really living it.
This Region 4 release of Edmond by Madman Entertainment includes some great extras, including The Making of Edmond, Deleted Scenes,
Interview with Director Stuart Gordon and Commentaries for your viewing pleasure.
Edmond Burke decides he’s had enough of his boring, beige-colored, corporate life. Taking the advice of a psychic, he leaves his wife and his old life
behind to discover where he is really supposed to be. Unfortunately, his journey takes him into the seedy underground of the city, where in one
night he visits multiple bars, strip clubs, peep shows and massage parlors. Through his hellish journey, he finds the hookers too expensive, the
pimps violent and many a conman roaming the dirty streets. It seems everyone wants to take advantage of him, from the hookers to a man
running a card game con on the street. He is beaten and robbed, but keeps on roaming the streets searching for answers. In such a lonely, dog-
eat-dog world, Edmond finally snaps and ends up killing a woman and threatening others. He is sent to prison, where he has a lifetime to mull over
the philosophy of life that sent him to the brink of madness.
William H. Macy stars as Edmond, playing the same lost, lonely, sad and confused man he plays in almost every other film. Sure, he gives a
powerful performance, but it is one we have already seen in countless films. His Edmond is a pathetic sack of a man who does whatever people tell
him to do including following the psychic’s advice that he’s not in the right place in life and a man at a bar (played by Joe Mantegna) who tells him
to go get laid. He finally snaps when he realizes that the world outside of his white-bread upbringing is a mean place where people just use and
abuse each other.
The cast features many familiar faces, including Julia Stiles as a waitress he ends up sleeping with, Mena Suvari, Bai Ling and Denise Richards all as
hookers, Debi Mazar as a madam of a massage parlor, Jeffrey Combs as a hotel desk clerk and George Wendt as a pawn shop owner.
Unfortunately, these appearances are little more than cameos as Edmond wanders through the dangerous underbelly of the city and we don’t get
to see much these actors. This film is solely focused on Macy’s character.
That being said, this is much more a character-driven film than a horror movie. It was penned from a play by David Mamet and directed by Stuart
Gordon of Re-Animator fame. Don’t expect any over-the-top, gory, humorous horror here, though. Edmond’s level of violence doesn’t exceed a
couple of beatings and one killing, which happens off-screen. The horror here is much more psychological as Edmond’s sanity continues to slip.
Gordon, though, does a masterful job of directing the Mamet-penned emotional script and cinematographer Denis Maloney captures all the seedy
trashiness of Downtown.
This film won’t please a lot of horror fans because of its slow pace and lack of bloodshed. You will need some patience to view the film, but the
unsettling and uneven pace mirrors Edmond’s own psychological state of mind and is there for a reason. Fans of David Mamet films will find this
more their style, but Edmond should also hold some interest to those who enjoy psychological dramas about a person’s changing reality. Edmond
is an intriguing piece of cinema that forces you to examine your own life to see if you are really living it.
This Region 4 release of Edmond by Madman Entertainment includes some great extras, including The Making of Edmond, Deleted Scenes,
Interview with Director Stuart Gordon and Commentaries for your viewing pleasure.
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