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Tartan Video
Posted: February 1st, 2008.
We’ve all seen him: the crazy guy on the street corner whose mutterings, just shy of intelligent commentary,make us wonder how he ended up this way. Edmond Burke (William H. Macy, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) descends intothat alienated, downtrodden territory in one night in this urgent, thought-provoking drama based on a David Mametplay.
A staid salaryman with a comfortable existence, Edmond abruptly leaves his wife (Rebecca Pidgeon) one night afterhaving a dire fortune reading, and, in the hours that follow, he taps into a bleak reality that shatters whatremains of his sanity. At first deciding to ease his sorrows by having sex, his attempts are thwarted by hischaracteristic thrift and naive, awkward approach. After getting ripped off by some thugs and pawning his weddingring, Edmond buys a knife to protect himself from the violence with which he is quickly becoming familiar; when heis again threatened on the street, he rises to the occasion with bitter hatred and his own shocking violence.
In the course of the ensuing crime and punishment–each horrifying in its turn–Edmond comes to shaky terms withthe meaning of fate and the individual’s relative inability to determine its outcome, and finds a most unexpectedreconciliation in the face of his knowledge. Macy’s performance is astounding as a man buffeted by forces outsidehis comprehension, while the film uses unflinching realism to address aspects of urban life, including racism,the sex industry, and the indifference with which we treat one another. He is supported by a cast that includesJulia Stiles (THE OMEN), Joe Mantegna (KIM POSSIBLE), Debi Mazar (ENTOURAGE), Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY),Denise Richards (LOVE, ACTUALLY), and Bai Ling (THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY).
Extras include trailers.
Edmond is out now on DVD for £19.99, but can be ordered on Amazon.co.uk by clickingon the above link for £11.98 at the time of posting this press release.
News page content input by Dominic Robinson, 2008.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.