Edmond

"Every fear hides a wish."

2006 1h 22m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

47%

ROTTEN

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 226🥫47%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 12,979

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Seemingly mild-mannered businessman Edmond Burke visits a fortuneteller and hears a remark that spurs him to leave his wife abruptly and seek what is missing from his life. Encounters with strangers and unsavory people weaken the barriers encompassing his long-suppressed rage, until Edmond explodes in violence.

“Every fear hides a wish.”

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Cast

William H. Macy
Edmond
Frances Bay
Fortune Teller
Rebecca Pidgeon
Wife
Joe Mantegna
Man in Bar
Denise Richards
B-Girl
Wendy Thompson
Cocktail Waitress
Vincent Guastaferro
Club Manager
Bai Ling
Peep Show Girl

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stuart Gordon
Writers: David Mamet
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stuart Gordon, shot by Denis Maloney. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bobby Johnston. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Andy Horvitch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

William H. Macy and Frances Bay and Rebecca Pidgeon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Every fear hides a wish.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stuart Gordon directs. Denis Maloney behind the camera. Bobby Johnston scores. Andy Horvitch cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 20 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Stuart Gordon, shot by Denis Maloney. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Bobby Johnston. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Andy Horvitch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7William H. Macy and Frances Bay and Rebecca Pidgeon carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Every fear hides a wish.".
9IMDB entry: tt0443496 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "new york city", "prostitute", "fortune teller", "sex shop".

The technical file

Cinematography: Denis Maloney
Original score: Bobby Johnston
Editing: Andy Horvitch
Production design: Alan E. Muraoka
Costume design: Carol Cutshall
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Edmond (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 47% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 12,979 votes
MPAA: R
US box office: $131,719

Awards

3 wins & 2 nominations total

Also by

Stuart Gordon

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb280390232022-08-27
★ 6/10
It never hurts a movie to have both William H. Macy and Joe Mantegna, not least because there’s a good chance it’s a David Mamet film. Mantegna appears briefly in Edmond, adapted by Mamet from his one-act play and directed by Stuart Gordon, but his intervention is key. Edmond Burke (Macy) encounters Mantegna’s character in a bar, and after the two bond over their shared racism, the latter gives the former a card with the address of a nightclub, but which Edmond momentarily sees as a Tarot card: the Hierophant. This is ironic because the Hierophant is believed to bring religious worshipers into the presence of what is sacred, and in The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck it represents conformity to social norms or a deference to the established moral and social order, being a guide to knowledge, perception and wisdom. Thus, in the Apollonian guise of the Hierophant, Mantegna is actually a Dionysian agent, gently nudging Edmond toward the profane and immoral, and into an downward spiral of hatred, ignorance, and crime. The protagonist’s name is equally ironic. Edmond is related to Edmundi, which itself is derived from the Old English ēad, meaning “prosperity” or “riches”, and mund, meaning “protector.” During the course of this fateful night, however, we see Edmond haggling fruitlessly with prostitutes, and generally illustrating the proverb 'a fool and his money are soon parted.' Additionally, more than a protector, Edmond becomes someone to be protected from. Edmond is an utterly vile and despicable being, concerned exclusively with sex and money — specifically how much of the latter he's willing to part with in exchange for the former (Macy's performance is notable for making Edmond a human scum without entirely repelling us; his company is abhorrent and at the same time fascinating). His victims are not shown in a much more positive light, though; they are no better than Edmond, only slightly less bad. For instance, the African-American man that Edmond beats up within an inch of his life, each blow accompanied by a racist slur, tried to mug Edmond whilst pretending to be a pimp. And when Edmond finally manages to hold sexual congress — ironically with the only woman he approaches who is not a prostitute —, she turns out to be just as intolerant as he is. Edmond nonetheless kills her because she, an aspiring actress, refuses to admit she’s nothing but a glorified waitress. Gordon and Mamet don't just condemn white male supremacy; they accuse society as a whole — everyone is accountable (although some more than others, and Edmond certainly receives a punishment proportional, not only to his crime, but also to his racism and homophobia); it’s only when Edmond is isolated from that society that Mamet and Gordon denounce, only when he himself severs any tenuous ties that might bind him to the outside world, that he finds some sort of redemption, and learns to love his fellow man — literally as well as figuratively.
JPV8522026-09-28
★ 6/10
Interesting character drama showcases William H. Macy's great talent and ability to carry almost entirely on his own. The movie sprinkles in some name talent for a few minutes each. To say the least this isn't exactly a happy flick or anything though not entirely depressing. It does have the annoying psuedo-intellectual rubbish that I hated about "The Matrix Revolutions", and this is coming from someone who has liked David Mamet-written scripts. 3.0/5