Review of Edmond

Introduction

"What an odd combination" were the exact four words in response to a friend finding out what was up next for review from yours truly. Of course, to elicit that sort of reaction I had to elaborate more on `Edmond` than just William H. Macy goes a bit nuts in downtown New York at night. The precise facet that drew it out was that it was a film by Stuart Gordon, based on a stageplay by David Mamet. Gordon, after all, is best known for `Re-Animator`, a slew of low budget, direct-to-video horror films and a passion for Lovecraft, whereas Mamet is a playwright, screenwriter, author and sometime film director noted for his biting social cynicism and short, talky, plot-lite approach to writing. What an odd combination indeed.

`Edmond` is based on Mamet`s titular single-act play, first staged in 1982, and adapted by both Gordon and Mamet. Macy plays the everyman Edmond Burke, who, after a visit to a fortune teller, leaves his wife after a rather acrimonious conversation and embarks on a night of perceived liberty in New York`s seedy sexual underbelly of strip joints, peep shows and brothels. It`s here that he gets conned out of his money, beaten up, accosted by a pimp, buys a knife, gets accused of rape, propositions a young waitress and manages to get 47 years of pent-up anger, bigotry and hypocrisy off his chest before it all ends rather tragically.

Video

A Tartan release, it`s no surprise to be utterly underwhelmed by the anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. Fairly noisy in parts, it`s soft with obvious dirt and blemishes carried over from the film stock, and there`s noticeable artefacting around several foreground objects, in backgrounds and plenty of edge enhancement. It`s another fairly dull transfer from Tartan who never seem to put the effort in.

Audio

Again, this is Tartan, so if you`re expecting anything other than workmanlike, forget it. Three tracks - DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 - but aside from looking good on the cover, the DTS is nothing to write home about. It, along with the lower bitrate DD 5.1, is very front-orientated and not particularly pliable in terms of direction or richness. There are a few occasions of rising rears - when Edmond goes into a strip club the music blasts out from behind - but that`s elementary steering. Nothing in the way of bass depth or cross-soundstage driving, and some will argue it`s a talky picture, but I`ve seen cracking 5.1 mixes on the most unlikely of projects. This isn`t one of them. Stereo, of course, is stereo, and the DD 2.0 won`t win any awards, but it does what it does.

Features

Disappointingly, not a jot.

Conclusion

Here`s something you don`t hear everyday - with `Edmond`, you`ll either love it or hate it. Or, to be more specific, you`ll enjoy and value it for what it is, or loathe it with a passion, but probably struggle to pick out a single reason why. Gordon`s film appears to be a straight adaptation of Mamet`s play - 80-minutes of abrasive vitriol, streetwise observation and blinding cynicism, with an impressively healthy sense of dark humour and a vicarious, if slightly underplotted script that takes the viewer on a sleazy journey that`s starkly honest as opposed to over-romanticised. So yes, I fall into the former. I enjoyed it, as I have done with most of the Mamet-involved films I`ve had the pleasure of seeing. It`s not as tight as `Glengarry Glen Ross`, not as clever as `Spartan`, but it`s solid slice of modern neuroticism on film.

William H. Macy has built up an impressive CV playing the slightly awkward everyman, often with a touch of quirk, so it`s enjoyable to see him ripped from his environment, even if it is to be placed in one just to the left a bit, as he strolls through the role of emotionally unbalanced Edmond Burke. The spirited, talk-heavy script has a touch of `Lost In Translation` about it, as an out-of-his-depth, but straight-talking Edmond explores the city`s alien underworld - a world where much to Edmond`s annoyance, they talk anything but straight. The film is littered with cameos and small roles for a host of famous names and faces - including Bai Ling, Joe Mantegna, Mena Suvari, Denise Richards and even long-time Gordon collaborator Jeffrey Combs (Herbert West), and at times you forget that what you`re watching is a Stuart Gordon film, a man for whom the bulk of his resume reads like a Razzies s***-list, as his direction is assured and clean, with little carried over from his work on cheap blood and gore flicks. At least until Edmond finds himself in his jocks, covered from head to toe in claret.

If there`s one element I`d pick on with `Edmond` it`s the course of his journey. With `Falling Down`, you felt like you were observing a man imploding as you witnessed, and to some extent, empathised with his situation. Edmond Burke is off his rocker from the first frame, as if someone smacked him over the head with a hammer just prior to the opening credits. We never get to experience him peeling away from his hinges, we just stand as attestant over the human carnage that ensues. Still, a minor quibble. `Edmond` is a dark and disturbing journey through one man`s hell, as evocative and barren as that is. Recommended film, stodgy DVD.