Reviews

Edmond

The story of the making of Edmond is one of those common occurances where in a film with a talented cast, writer and director puts together a film and it sits on the shelf for a year, then finally gets released to DVD with little to no promotion. Unfortunately the common denominator is that the film turns out to be bad or kind of good, but highly flawed. Such is not the case for this little gem.

Edmond ,starring William H. Macy, is the story of mild mannered Edmond Burke. Edmond is a man existing in a world in which he feels trapped. He wants to shout out or speak his mind or live free but is afraid of the consequences. After a trip to a tarrot card reader Edmond has a moment of clarity, where in he is informed that he is not where he belongs. This sets off a series of events that takes him to the back alleys, sex clubs and other dark recesses of New York City. Edmond becomes a man unhinged and makes the audience witnessing this increasingly uncomfortable, which I found brilliant due to the stellar script by playwriter/director David Mammet (which is based on his play of the same name). Also credit must be given to the outstanding performance of Macy. It is truly a crime that this man is not recognized more than he already is. Other actors know this, as do critics, directors and screenwriters yet is passed over by award committies, the bastards that they are. The film is marketed as a thriller, but to merely define this as such is just limiting it. Edmond is more of a character study that has elements of a thriller, as well as noir, dark comedy and tragedy.

Stuart Gordon does a brilliant job as well of directing this open space of a film, yet manages to rope in viewers and make them slightly claustraphobic, more in part to Macy's performance I think. This is definitely Gordon's best work since Re-Animator, though this is a much different film for him. I almost feel like the Mammet script really did all the work and Gordon just transcribed it to film. Despite this Gordon does a marvelous job showcasing the bright and beautiful cityscape of the Big Apple as well as the shadowy corners.

Aside from Macy, who is in nearly every frame of the film, Edmond also features a calvacade of cameos from the likes of Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna, Bokeem Woodbine, Mena Suvari and Denise Richards in a career high performance as a stripper. Stiles has the longest scene charting in at about fifteen minutes where the others are only in their scene for a few minutes. Woodbine comes in at a close second. The film also features a few familiar faces. Rebecca Pidgeon (Mammet's wife and alumni of many of his films) plays Edmond's wife. Nip/Tuck's Dylan Walsh puts in a fine performance as a police interrogator. Gordon fans will also appreciate Jeffrey Combs' cameo as a seedy hotel clerk. One cameo I'll leave a surprise, but check out the pawn shop scene and see if you can pick out the salesman. It took a little bit for me but was a fun moment in the film when I discovered who it was.

Overall Edmond is a dark and sometimes hard gripping film, but for Mammet fans is a must see. I also have to appreciate Gordon's job as well. This proves to me that if he would just find better scripts than some of the sci-fi and horror crap that he has produced over the years, he would be a much more recognized director outside of Re-Animator. Of course I have no complaints for Macy. He is highly convincing as a man come unhinged and then believably resolves this madness. A great line Macy has in the film sums it all up for me, "Inside every fear hides a wish."
9/10
George

You can rent Edmond at Wild and Woolly video

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