Mamet's paranoid rant...is as bilious as ever, but time has overtaken and defanged it.
Edmond (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:72
Fresh:33
Rotten:39
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: A gothic fairytale that catches director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp at the top of their games.
Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for violence, strong language, and sexual content including nudity and dialogue.
Runtime: 82 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:06-07-2007
Synopsis: We've all seen him: the crazy guy on the street corner whose mutterings, just shy of intelligent commentary, make us wonder how he ended up this way. Edmond Burke (William H. Macy, THANK YOU FOR... We've all seen him: the crazy guy on the street corner whose mutterings, just shy of intelligent commentary, make us wonder how he ended up this way. Edmond Burke (William H. Macy, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) descends into that alienated, downtrodden territory in one night in this urgent, thought-provoking drama based on a David Mamet play. A staid salaryman with a comfortable existence, Edmond abruptly leaves his wife (Rebecca Pidgeon) one night after having a dire fortune reading, and, in the hours that follow, he taps into a bleak reality that shatters what remains of his sanity. At first deciding to ease his sorrows by having sex, his attempts are thwarted by his characteristic thrift and naive, awkward approach. After getting ripped off by some thugs and pawning his wedding ring, Edmond buys a knife to protect himself from the violence with which he is quickly becoming familiar; when he is again threatened on the street, he rises to the occasion with bitter hatred and his own shocking violence. In the course of the ensuing crime and punishment--each horrifying in its turn--Edmond comes to shaky terms with the meaning of fate and the individual's relative inability to determine its outcome, and finds a most unexpected reconciliation in the face of his knowledge. Macy's performance is astounding as a man buffeted by forces outside his comprehension, while the film uses unflinching realism to address aspects of urban life, including racism, the sex industry, and the indifference with which we treat one another. He is supported by a cast that includes Julia Stiles (THE OMEN), Joe Mantegna (KIM POSSIBLE), Debi Mazar (ENTOURAGE), Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY), Denise Richards (LOVE, ACTUALLY), and Bai Ling (THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY). [More]
Starring: William H. Macy, Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon
Starring: William H. Macy, Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon, Mena Suvari
Director: Stuart Gordon
Director: Stuart Gordon
Studio: First Independent Pictures
Reviews for Edmond
William H. Macy, Joe Mantegna and a number of other true pros manage to keep straight faces all the way through this woozy, self-important stew of lurid nonsense.
By design, nasty, brutish, and short...functions as drama because shock crosses through sensationalism to a kind of purity in the character study of a man in desperate need of repair.
a fussy little movie that wants to be much more controversial and important than it is.
Edmond plays like Eyes Wide Shut meets Falling Down with a dash of Fight Club, although Mamet's original play debuted way back in 1982 before any of those films existed
In this screen adaptation of David Mamet's play, William H. Macy is perfectly cast as a prim Manhattan businessman who heeds his inner demons and plummets into free fall.
Despite the best efforts of all concerned, what seemed explosive and provocative two decades ago now comes across as schematic and artificial.
There is no question about the inspired tragedy and incinerating fury of Mr. Macy’s bravura center-ring performance.
A compact one act play ill translates into a hurried almost thirty-location shoot, a logistically plagued one at that.
Edmond is all sizzle and little meat, a veritable tangent act dropped from Glengarry Glen Ross because it was several marks too silly.
What a fight you'll have at dinner after seeing Edmond. And best of all, I think you might be surprised by who takes which side in the fight.
Like Paul Haggis's Crash, the characters speak their minds so fully (or lie about their feelings so transparently) that the stuff which should be bubbling under the surface is constantly rising in fiery tirades.
The title character, played with bravura by William H. Macy, leads us down the path to hell in an absorbing but ultimately sophomoric drama.
works well enough, until we come to the last 20 or so minutes of the thing
Latest News for Edmond
May 17, 2006:
William H. Macy Elects to Visit "House of Re-Animator"
The creators of the original "Re-Animator" are getting back together to do a 4th chapter. This one will be called "House of Re-Animator," and it will star... More...
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