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.
Acting
Macy's trembling rage—never overplayed, always terrifying.
Writing
Mamet's brutal dialogue, stripped of comfort or redemption.
Direction
Stuart Gordon's lean, theatrical intensity in grimy NYC.
Director
Stuart Gordon
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Macy and Mamet were old Chicago theater friends; this was their darkest collaboration, originally a 1982 play that flopped on Broadway.
Stuart Gordon was primarily known for cult horror (Re-Animator)—his only straight drama, and he cast his own wife as the porn booth clerk Edmond abuses.
US
