Edmond Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Edmond Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 16, 2021

David Mamet is known for his rapid fire dialogue, and so it's perhaps a bit ironic that his commentary track included on this disc as a supplement is a somewhat halting, often completely silent, affair, and his rapier wit is sometimes confined to "insightful" (?) comments about things like how well William H. Macy walks into an elevator. Even if Mamet himself isn't especially articulate about his own creation, most folks watching Edmond will feel like there's a lot to talk about, even if that discussion may well be awkward and perhaps even downright difficult. If there's a film and/or character ripe for what is now known as "cancel culture", Edmond may well be it, though as usual with Mamet's writing, things are so multilayered that mere "canceling" may not adequately address some of the issues the film raises. Edmond premiered as a one act play in 1982, and it's perhaps salient to note that this film version didn't appear until over two decades later, something that may allude to either a difficult adaptive process (even if Mamet wrote the screenplay), or, maybe just as likely, a general sentiment that a film with this kind of provocative stance might not exactly be "commercial". Edmond's titular character is Edmond Burke (William H. Lacy), the kind of put upon working schlub that Macy excels at portraying, at least when he's not portraying unemployed schlubs as he did in Shameless. A chance interaction with a tarot reader (Frances Bay) alerts Edmond to a fact of which he's probably already overly aware: he is, in the words of the fortune teller, "not where he belongs". That midlife awakening and/or reassessment leads to a cartwheeling series of increasingly horrifying events which includes threats, beatings, and, ultimately, murder.

There has been a lot of bandwidth and newsprint devoted to trying to examine issues that are regularly lumped under the perhaps linked rubrics of "white privilege" and "white grievance", and Edmond may serve as a peculiar cinematic example of both. Edmond would seem to be a relatively well to do guy with a decent job and an attractive wife (Rebecca Pidgeon), but the film pretty quickly demonstrates that all is not right in Edmond's world from any number of perspectives. After a showdown of sorts with his wife which leads to an immediate estrangement, Edmond heads out into the big, wide and decidedly gritty world to seek out something, which perhaps predictably turns out to be a hunt for sexual gratification.

A number of increasingly troubling interchanges accrue as Edmond visits various dens of iniquity, and some of Mamet's trademark acerbic humor is actually able to peek through the smarm, since Edmond is such a complete, unadulterated dolt about human interactions, let alone propositioning a "working girl" for some quick action. You can feel the rage simmering in Edmond as one "relationship" after another never quite fulfills his expectations, and after he gets a pretty potent smackdown from a three card monte street dealer he accuses of cheating, things begin to tip precariously over into sociopathic behaviors.

The most potentially controversial of these outbursts involves a black pimp (Lionel Mark Smith) Edmond accosts after Edmond has pawned his wedding ring to get a knife. Suffice it to say that Edmond's travails have brought him to the point where, to paraphrase a certain cinematic newscaster, he's "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore," which leads to a savage attack on the pimp, which is accompanied by a litany of disparaging epithets which are most definitely of the "cancelable" variety. Again, probably unsurprisingly, this feral eruption on the part of Edmond actually leaves him feeling better about everything, and bloodied and bruised, he then comes on to a waitress named Glenna (Julia Stiles), and it seems like his fortunes may have changed when she's actually receptive to him.

Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse, and without detailing the wending path Edmond takes, suffice it to say his one lasting "relationship" might seem to be the cellmate he ends up being imprisoned with, in what is just another really provocative and disturbing development. There's absolutely no question that Edmond is an unsettling viewing experience, and it certainly allows Macy to chew the scenery with considerable aplomb, but I'm just not sure what exactly Mamet is trying to "say" here, other than perhaps those with an emptiness inside might do better seeking therapy than sex or other thrills on the street.

Edmond Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Edmond is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, and FilmRise with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. There are some strengths and weaknesses to this transfer. On the plus side, the palette is mostly well suffused, though occasional scenes, including the first vignette with Edmond and his wife, are kind of dowdy and brown looking. There is a slight tendency toward yellow tints that can make flesh tones look a little sickly at times. Detail levels are generally good to very good in more brightly lit moments, but can be less impressive in some of the more shrouded scenes. Grain is rather rough looking at various points throughout the presentation, having a kind of gritty, black quality that is especially noticeable against brighter backgrounds. There is some minor age related wear and tear on display, but nothing of any major import.

Edmond Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Edmond features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options. The surround track noticeably opens up the soundstage in a lot of the outdoor urban material, where background clamor spills into the side and rear channels. Some of Edmond's "adventures" in houses of ill repute also offer good immersion, and Bobby Johnston's score also spreads agreeably through the channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Edmond Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Feature Commentary by Director Stuart Gordon, Producer Duffy Hecht, and Actor/Producer Lionel Mark Smith can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Feature Commentary by Writer David Mamet can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Every Fear Hides a Wish: The Edmond Diary (SD; 11:11) offers quite a bit of candid footage and what looks like backstage interviews.


• Deleted Scenes (SD; 6:46)


• Trailers includes Edmond (SD; 2:11), along with trailers for other releases from MVD Visual.

Edmond Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's kind of funny in a way to hear Stuart Gordon and his cohort on their commentary discuss how this Mamet exercise actually has a plot, instead of just nonstop rapid fire dialogue, but in that regard, it may be salient to note that Mamet's original one act was apparently just a series of vignettes. That feeling of "episodes" continues with this adaptation, and it may strike some viewers that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, so to speak. There's a lot to take in with this film, and if Mamet's "goal" isn't completely clear, the visceral qualities of the performances may be enough to help elide any feeling of instability. Technical merits are generally solid, if video is a little problematic at times, and the supplements are enjoyable. With major caveats for those easily offended, and with fans of Macy in mind, Edmond comes Recommended.