Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Just perfect...

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Another special little movie by horror director Stuart Gordon, who inserts a whole lot more drama into 'Edmond' than he usually does - I would guess, because I haven't seen all that much of his older work (of course, I did see his infamous and terrific debut 'Re-animator', and 'Dagon').A total blessing for this film is that William H. Macy agreed to do the lead, you can't go wrong with 'Jerry'! The beautiful female sidekicks (Julia Stiles, Bai Ling, Mena Suvari, Denise Richards, what a quartet!) don't have big parts, but they deliver lots and lots of fun. And let's not forget about the talk at the bar with Joe Mantegna. The story is quite 'simply' that of a man descending step by step into hell one night, but he redeems himself in a special kind of way... I won't tell, just go see. Being an adaptation of a stage play written by David Mamet (which will have helped Macy to take the role, he worked with Mamet many times before, in the theatre and in films), you might have another clue as what to expect, I thought it worked really well as a film.A good 8 out of 10.

This was written for Macy, right? Just as he "made" the earlier "Fargo," Macy's mesmerizing performance is the subject of "Edmond." Again he's an Everyman (make that a white Everyman), and again things go from bad to unbelievably bad in just under two hours' time. The movie had me at the edge of my seat throughout -- first because Edmond was speaking his mind in an almost Larry David-type way (albeit without any of the comedy). After the fateful meeting with the fortune teller he's just not gonna get screwed. How ironically it all turns out...The movie is definitely better at the beginning, when it looks like Edmond just possibly could live his life fairly normally while not having to suck up to assholes and jerks. But that all changes when, tellingly, it's a white person who turns up the victim.That's Julia Stiles, who was sublime in "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet", in the puzzling role of the barmaid. Why WAS it she went home with a battered homely man twice her age? That's where the movie starts to get a bit unbelievable. And then when Edmond's pontificating in her apartment, waving his knife around, and she's not even scared. It was at moments like that the movie lost its verisimilitude for me.Though parts of "Edmond" were truly unbelievable, the movie absolutely riveted me from the murder on. I caught this film on the IFC channel and had to stop it a couple of times during Macy's first encounter with his cell mate. I couldn't watch or listen except in doses. But I did manage to see this movie through to its stunning conclusion -- on a bizarrely fascinating note!

David Mamet's play "Edmond" becomes on the hands of the "Re-Animator" director Stuart Gordon a strange portrayal about human degradation and the loss of everything, a man who lost everything and most important, his inner self into sex, crimes, lies and more; a man who went spiraling out of control believing this was the path he should be traveling by. So, if you're in a good mood don't go watch this film.Remember when Tom Cruise was walking on the NY streets looking for something after his wife tell him something disturbing to him in "Eyes Wide Shut"? Well, William H. Macy playing Edmond does almost the same except this time his disenchanted character leaves his wife and his house, he doesn't love her anymore and he wants something new, something exciting in his life. Edmond's "guides" in this rotten and sickening world of "pleasures" and deceive are a fortune teller (Frances Bay); a man he met at a bar (Joe Mantegna); a young waitress (Julia Stiles); a stripper (Ling Bai); a prostitute (Mena Suvari); a prisoner (Bookem Woodbine); and plenty of others and the number 115 (?). And he keeps walking the streets looking for something, for someone who can listen to him, someone who can have sex with him, but he gets robbed, commits murders AND doesn't realize he had everything he needed and now he's going for his ruin, his moral and physical destruction; to him forces or fate control everything in everyone's lives, it's not in our hands to built our path through life, it's bigger than us. The film isn't fair with us by showing Edmond became the way he did; it isn't fair also because he barely realizes that his life was full of good things, it simply throws to us that he hated how the world was like, hated his wife and all. The guy snapped! Thankfully, the movie makes sense without showing the difference of what Edmond was and what Edmond becomes but we can notice his failure during his doomed journey. The story is quite good but there are some weak points to be found. The most serious moment of the film became the most laughable when Edmond killed someone, his lowest point, and I laughed a lot, don't know why exactly. Perhaps the plot was going way absurd or the way the scene was edited, something happened to me during this part; the plot twists to some bizarre things that to some might look ridiculous; another thing that bothers concerns about Edmond's racist attacks, it goes way too much, less could work effectively, and is something that shouldn't be here if the movie seems to demand from us that we like this guy (and we do, no matter what because William H. Macy is always likable in any film he makes). But, my guess is that Mamet's text works best when he also directs (notable exception is "Glengarry Glen Ross" directed by James Foley). Positive aspects of this film besides the story: Macy is amazing (as always) in the title role. He brings desperation and real drama to this role, we feel pity of him at points until we realize this guy went too far. Supporting cast goes well and I wish we could have more of Joe Mantegna, the most friendly character to Edmond during his entrance to hell. Final questions: Edmond really had to pass through all of this? How much do we control in life? To be complete and to be happy is easy? If you like difficult questions that look simple but most of the time are not answered, and if you enjoy characters who go downhill through life time and time again, go watch "Edmond" right away. 9/10

I kept expecting this film to get better but it never did. The film starts off in a promising manner but meanders in all sorts of irrelevant scenarios. Although Mamet is known for his use of language/words above all else, his language, ideas and concepts couldn't save this movie from being an incredible bore. Save your time-watch something else. William Macy is wasted in this film. I spent 1/2 the time trying to figure out where the movie was filmed. Sometimes it reminded me of the same city presented in Eyes Wide Shut and other times it seemed as if the film took place in some gritty part of Los Angeles. Try Mamet's House of Games instead.