Edmond

The incredible William Macy gives us a glimpse into real madness in EDMOND, a sort of FALLING DOWN for the new millennium. Macy's life begins to unravel, and he ends up falling into an urban hell where he encounters and sometimes gets rough with, or roughed up by, various seedy characters (this is supposed to be New York, but was shot in Hollywood). Macy is magnificent as this increasingly nutty human being, and nothing any actor has done before can touch it, including Michael Douglas playing a similar role in FALLING DOWN. He is the whole purpose of watching this movie, and the camera stays tight on his anguished face in many shots. Adapted from a play by the great David Mamet, EDMOND is must-viewing by a mature audience. Legendary horror director Stuart (RE-ANIMATOR) Gordon gives EDMOND a bloody touch or two or three, much like fellow horror director Reny Harlin did with DIE HARD 2. Interesting to note: Gordon regular Jeffrey Combs is among the cast, and both Combs and Macy will appear in Gordon's next RE-ANIMATOR sequel. Macy will try pretty much anything, I guess. And he rarely fails. He can go from playing a lovable but aging salesman to a gun-toting villain out to kill the president's daughter. Amazing.

This movie makes most people uncomfortable. It's not an easy movie to watch. Its like watching a gruesome accident but not being able to stop. Edmond is a middle age man going through a crisis. His life is meaningless and boring but he is content to plod along until a series of chance encounters leads him to the decision that he must leave his life, including his wife behind. Having hidden his true nature all of his life, he suddenly releases his pent up frustrations and in doing so, takes himself down a path, not of redemption but one of degradation. He is searching for something or someone to fill a void in his life and with his new purpose of self, he becomes in fact dangerous. The transformation of Edmond from mild mannered and dutiful citizen to an angry, rebellious zealot is fascinating. I immediately went out to buy this movie after purchasing it from Redbox. I am not surprised that this movie was never released widespread. It would surely have caused a huge ruckus in our politically correct society. I know I am being vague. But if you want to watch a movie that is totally different from the standard fare, then see this movie. The big surprise at the end is the actor Bokine Woodbine, who plays a significant but very small role, that puts a fitting end to this thoroughly entertaining, disturbing and engrossing movie. William H. Macy, is superb, and who knew that he actually has a great body for a man his age.

Interesting, if not altogether captivating slice o' night and consequences of one Edmond Burke; a man who is driven to the edge, and all areas after, following his decision to essentially walk away from everything due to feeling unfulfilled in life. Working from this always relate-able premise, Mamet crafts a more intelligent, more realistic version of last decade's controversial but safe Falling Down, and in turn offers some of the year's best societal release. Problems arise however when the actions slow down and the talking speeds up, where monologues and even back and forth dialogs seem to be coming from the writer's mouth instead of the characters. This all goes south in the second half, where Macy's sermonizing kills some of the script's authenticity and integrity, due to the long-winded, self righteous, and ultimately distracting and uninvolved nature of his lines. For a film that approaches a gritty New York night with style and ease, with a scriptwriter as esteemed and knowledgeable as David Mamet, it was a shame to see some of the later scenes become a pulpit for Mr. Mamet to talk through instead of more subtle suggestion, but it is still far from making this movie avoidable. With some of William H Macy's most powerful work, Edmond is still a triumph of a character based thriller, leaving me satisfied with it's profound conclusion.

We have here a night of debauchery, violence, anger, and hate which could only be delivered by David Mamet's lyrical prose and the horror background of director Stuart Gordon. Think Scorsese's After Hours, but dead serious and shrouded in pitch black darkness. Much like Mamet's Oleanna, also based on his own play, Edmond features a tour de force performance from lead actor and real life friend William H. Macy. His character awakens to the mundane existence he has been a part of for 47 years and decides to go on an adventure to live life in the moment. You have not seen a crisis of identity lead a man to the depths of the hell within himself like you do here.

Gordon shoots the film with a bit of an off-kilter unease, showing the audience how fragile each moment is. At any time Macy's Edmond could fall in lust, partake in bigoted conversation, get mugged, find God, and even kill. Macy delivers an emotional clinic as he falls deeper and deeper into insanity or maybe just plain indifference. He is the star of the show and is on screen every second of the film just trying to give wisdom and take some for himself, not realizing the crazed malice infused in his face as he spouts his philosophy. The film is definitely not for the weak of heart, and not because of any real overdoing of blood and nudity, but because of the script itself. Each character is a racist and bigot of some sort, exposing their prejudices with candor. Edmond is on a journey of acceptance for who he really is. Where that trail ends may be surprising and also fitting at the same time, but if nothing else, it is the place he has been searching for his entire life.

This is definitely Macy, Mamet, and Gordon's film, but it wouldn't be as successful as it is without an abundance of name actors in extremely small roles helping to keep the adventure going. Mamet's wife Rebecca Pidgeon is great as always playing the wife Macy leaves; Mena Suvari and Julia Stiles are believable as two of the women he crosses paths with, both of whom are introduced as one thing but eventually allow their true colors to come through; and Joe Mantegna once again shows that he became an actor only to show the world how Mamet's words should be spoken. No one does it like Mantegna and no film penned by Mamet should be without him.

Edmond is a strangely intriguing film to experience. It is dialogue heavy and contains a strong lead turn from Macy. Everything that transpires does so as a result of what he has experienced beforehand. Macy would not end up where he does if all that happened this night of self-reflection did not occur in exactly the order that it does. Straight from the note his secretary gives him at the beginning, to the tarot reading soon after, the planets aligned and fate led him to his salvation/destruction. There are moments in which the story grinds to a bit of halt and takes a little to get back on track, but overall the experience is one not to be shaken easily from your consciousness.

It's always nice to watch William H. Macy act even though his character is almost the same as in Fargo. William H. Macy is the main character Edmond, a guy fed up with the attitude of others, that gets spiralled in a journey of bickering and violence. You could compare it a bit like Falling Down but that movie was just much better. I don't say Edmond is a bad movie, it's worth a watch, but to me there are just too much moments with endless pointless conversations, especially towards the end. The violence might make some people uncomfortable but to me it didn't, those were actually the best parts of the story.