Two out of
Five stars
Running time:
82 mins
Stagey, heavy-handed and ultimately disappointing drama, despite a reliably decent performance from William H Macy.
What's it all about?
Adapted from the stage play by David Mamet, Edmond stars William H Macy as New York businessman Edmond Burke (the name's a clue, philosophy fans), who embarks on a long, dark night of the soul after a fortune-teller tells him that he's not where he belongs. Before you can say mid-life crisis, Edmond has walked out on his wife (Rebecca
Pidgeon) and had various encounters with a lap-dancer (Denise Richards), a prostitute (Mena Suvari) and a waitress (Julia Stiles).
However, Edmond swiftly discovers that free will isn't all it's cracked up to be, as his female encounters end in anger or frustration and, as if that wasn't bad enough, he also gets mugged, assaulted and conned in quick succession. With his suppressed rage reaching boiling point, Edmond decides to strike back, with disastrous consequences.
The Good
William H Macy delivers a reliably watchable performance, even if Edmond himself isn't a particularly sympathetic or likeable character. There are also a few bits of decent dialogue floating about – it's just a shame they weren't put to use in a better film.
The Bad
Edmond falls into the usual traps that await films adapted from plays, in that it's extremely stagey and theatrical throughout. It's also about as subtle as a sledgehammer – it couldn't be less subtle if each scene was preceded with a caption that said Misogyny, Racism, Homophobia or any of the other themes the film attempts to address.
The film also wastes a decent supporting cast, with Denise Richards and Mena Suvari in particular getting short shrift. Similarly, the film strays too far into slasher movie territory at one point, as if director Stuart - Re-Animator - Gordon couldn't keep his splatter-based tendencies reigned in any longer.
Worth seeing?
Sadly, even the redoubtable acting skills of William H Macy aren't enough to save this. Disappointing.