Homicide

David Mamet wrote and directed Homicide, a crime drama from 1991. Joe Mantegna plays Bob Gold, a Jewish detective in a city police department who is pulled off a drug investigation and assigned, against his wishes, to the murder of an elderly Jewish shopkeeper. What begins as a routine case draws him into a secret conflict between a neo-Nazi group and a Zionist underground organization. As Gold is forced to confront his own background, he becomes caught between his duties as a police officer and the demands of the group, and must decide where he stands.

The film was Mamet's second turn as director, following House of Games in 1987 and preceding Oleanna in 1994. Mantegna leads a cast that includes William H. Macy as his partner Tim Sullivan, Ving Rhames as Randolph, Natalija Nogulich as Chava, Vincent Guastaferro as Lieutenant Senna, and Rebecca Pidgeon as Ms. Klein, with ninety credited performers in all. It was produced by Michael Hausman and Edward R. Pressman.

Made for about 11 million dollars, Homicide returned roughly 3 million at the worldwide box office. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.9 from around 8,900 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.3 from about 159 votes, indicating a modest but durable audience for a film that sits early in Mamet's directing career.