Adapted for the screen by Mamet from his 1982 play and directed by Stuart Gordon, maker of the cult horror film "Re-Animator," "Edmond" serves to remind you how artificial the dialogue and dramaturgy truly was in early Mamet. The piece may still work onstage -- a 2003 revival in London starring Kenneth Branagh received rave reviews -- but the film version betrays its allegorical poses and clumsy satirical riffs on middle-class mores as something a sheltered college sophomore might pen rather than a major American playwright. The opening-night offering at the Silver Lake Film Festival should stay on the festival circuit.

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