The Offence

Lumet is at his best when he's close to filmed stage production:"twelve angry men" "dog day afternoon" "deathtrap" and even "murder on the orient express"are good examples.That is to say "The offence" is a talky work,par excellence the psychological drama.They say Sean Connery had to make another Bond (diamonds are forever) to be able to portray this cop.He made it a winner:it's one of his three best parts in the seventies with "the man who would be king" (1975)and "Robin and Marian" (1976).These three films cast him as an anti-hero(Huston's work),a has -been legendary character (Lester's) and here a psychotic cop:demeaning parts indeed,a million miles away from James Bond -but even when he was in his Bond era,Connery had made "the hill" with Lumet,another anti-hero part-

"The offence" appears first as another serial killer story.But the script focuses on a cop,and we are far from the cardboard character we have encountered so many times since (eg the alcoholic but handsome detective ,naturally a divorcée ,who finds love again and redeems himself:if you're looking for that ,and horrible crimes ,pass by).Connery's man psyche is shot ."I would not have your thoughts" says the suspect who reveals a deep malaise.Actually,we will never completely know what's going on in the cop's mind:his job seems to have driven him insane ,and at home,he's a frustrated husband (You're not a beauty,he tells his wife,you're not even pretty).Atrocious pictures fleetingly appear on the screen,building some incomplete jig-saw puzzle. But it's Connery's portrayal,at once frightening and pitiful,which gives the movie its incredible strength and the supporting cast is up to scratch.

To me "The offence" is a must. I think this film deserves to be rediscovered and reaprecciated, because it shows two giants of the cinema at their peak.

Actually the film stars Sean Connery -here in his first role after quitting the official James Bond series-, he's directed by his long time friend Sidney Lumet, one of the most talented American directors. The movie is like a theatrical piece, there's not much action. Everything stands on the actors and their expressions, the atmosphere is dark and depressing. But this is is the goal of the story. Sean is a 40 years old policeman, who faces again with a case of child abuse. He's used to deal with the most miserable stories of humanity... But this time his rage and frustrations explode: he beats a suspected person (Ian Bannen) and loses the control, he kills him. He's suspended from the service.

The movie is a psychological study of a hard man, who loses his dignity and understands too late he's a disturbed man as well. "The offence" is a small British film, a big contrast to the lavish 007 productions. We have not a hero here, we have an actor who proves once more to be a wonderful performer -here the desperation of his character is really deep.

In 1972 the movie didn't enjoy a big success, it has been revalued with the time. (maybe the story was too sad and disturbing for being a hit). Today it's considered a milestone in Connery's career. Of course it is.

After returning to save the James Bond franchise with "Diamonds Are Forever," Sean Connery made a complete left-field choice for his next role. In "The Offence," he plays a stressed-out police officer on the verge of a nervous breakdown who is in a physical and psychological battle with a paedophile suspect he has in custody. Connery's character is also struggling with his own paedophile tendencies. It is an adaptation of John Hopkins play "This Story of Yours." It is essentially a two-hander for the most part with Connery and Ian Bannen (as the paedophile) trying to get the better of one another in the interrogation room of a police station.

Even though Sean Connery won his only Oscar for "The Untouchables", for me, this is by far his best performance. He is an absolute powerhouse in this going from shouting, snarling rage to raving and ranting about paedophiles to then sobbing like a child and begging forgiveness.

Ian Bannen is, if anything, even better than Connery here. His character veers from confused innocence to leering guilt, from screaming frustration to self-pity and then back to arrogance. It's an amazing performance. Sadly, Ian Bannen was killed in a car crash a few years back. A huge loss to the acting community.

While "The Offence" on the surface seems like a very British police procedural drama, it was, surprisingly, directed by the American Sidney Lumet. Like Lumet's best movies ("Twelve Angry Men," "The Hill", "Serpico" and "Dog Day Afternoon") this film features a character in an extremely pressurized situation. It's brave film-making at its darkest. Hollywood certainly took notice as Lumet was chosen to direct a young Al Pacino in two of his breakthrough movies "Serpico" in 1973 and "Dog Day Afternoon" in 1975 after this.

This is the kind of film that would not only never be made today, to even suggest it as an idea for a film would probably be the end of your career. So, if you're tired of CGI monsters and explosions and you want to experience raw acting at its finest, get a copy of this film. It is uncomfortable viewing due to its disturbing subject matter, but you won't see better acting anywhere. Highly recommended.

The Offence is directed by Sidney Lumet and adapted to screenplay by John Hopkins from his own play titled This Story of Yours. It stars Sean Connery, Ian Bannen, Trevor Howard and Vivien Merchant. Cinematography is by Gerry Fisher and music by Harrison Birtwistle.

Detective Sergeant Johnson (Connery) has been with the British Police Force for two decades, in that time he has been witness to countless murders, rapes and other serious crimes. The images, the people he has had to deal with, have left a terrible mark on him. When suspected child sex attacker Kenneth Baxter (Bannen) comes up for interrogation by Johnson, his mind starts to fracture and he loses control, unleashing a dark side that comes out both physically and mentally.

You wouldn't think it possible for Lumet and Connery to have a hidden gem in their respective career outputs, but The Offence is very much just that. An unnerving skin itcher with an upsetting narrative core, The Offence was a commercial flop. It barely got released across the globe and only found its way onto home format release in the last 10 years. The film only got made after Connery struck a deal with United Artists, he would only return as James Bond for Diamonds Are Forever if they backed him for a couple of projects. One of which was The Offence, so with free licence to play Johnson, and his choice of Lumet in the directing chair, Connery got the film made.

Set with a bleak concrete back drop of a "New Town" (cheaply built monstrosities the government knocked up to ease the housing issues), The Offence is a fascinating blend of police procedural and psychological drama. It poses many questions, and thrives on ambiguity to the point repeat viewings are a must, but in the main what shrieks out is the thematic point of one mans harrowing employment taking its toll on he himself. Is it possible that you can only chase and be amongst monsters yourself for so long before you become one of that number? It's invariably hard to recommend the film as high entertainment, a comfy night in by the fire this film is not. But as film art, a searing character study and acting supreme, it scores impressively high whilst tantalisingly tickling the cranium.

It's fair to say it's very dialogue heavy, and Lumet as polished a director as he is, keeps it grainy, revelling in the bleakness of the story. Connery has never been better, utterly compelling, a brooding force of nature and as committed to role as he has ever been. Nor, too, arguably, has Bannen, the scenes shared between the two men are lessons in acting as they portray two warped minds bouncing off each with an unsettling force that grips us round the throat and refuses to let go long after the credits have rolled. Howard steps in to add a touch of mature quality, he too bringing the best out of Connery in the scenes they share, while Merchant as Johnson's "on the outside" wife, is raw and heartfelt.

You can't pigeon hole The Offence, it's very much one of a kind and it demands to be tracked down by serious film fans. From the low key score and foreboding 70s setting, to the gripper of a denouement, The Offence is an essential piece of British cinema. 9.5/10

A burnt-out British police detective investigates some astonishing crimes but after 20 years what Inspector-Sergeant Johnson (Sean Connery) has seen and done is destroying him. Things go wrong when eventually snaps whilst interrogating a suspected child molester called Baxter (Ian Bannen) . During the course of the interrogation takes place several surprises , twists and unexpected consequences.

Interesting and grim picture with tight editing , magnificent acting , thrills , plot twists , emotion and intense drama . It was originally conceived as a tense as well as thrilling flick about a complex interrogatory . It results to be an adaptation of a stage play titled : ¨This story of yours¨ by John Hopkings about a claustrophobic and strange duel betwen a suspicious child molester and a police officer obsessively convinced of his guilt , both of whom find themselves subtly changing places . Gripping and exciting picture about a cop who wants to investigate a grisly killing with unexpected consequences , outstanding the great Sean Connery playing very well a London detective who explodes at a police interrogation reacting against a child molester . Embedded in a realistic police procedure , thorny dialog and peculiar situations nowadays have a ring of arty melodrama ; nevertheless, riveting at times. Support cast is really excellent , such as: Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant as starring's wife , Peter Bowles and especially Ian Bannen as prime suspect in a series of brutal attacks on young girls.

The motion picture was compellingly directed by the splendid US director Sidney Lumet , though here he failed at box-office. After starting an off-Broadway acting troupe in the late 1940s, he became the director of many television shows in the 1950s. Lumet made his feature film Adaptation of directing debut with 12 Angry Men (1957), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and earned three Academy Award nominations. The courtroom drama, which takes place almost entirely in a jury room, is justly regarded as one of the most auspicious directorial debuts in film history. Lumet got the chance to direct Marlon Brando in The Figitive Kind (1960), an imperfect, but powerful adaptation of Tennessee Williams'. Sidney Lumet was a master of cinema , best known for his technical knowledge and his skill at getting first-rate performances from his actors and for shooting most of his films in his beloved New York . He made over 40 movies , often complex and emotional , but seldom overly sentimental . He achieved great successes such as ¨Serpico¨, ¨The Veredict¨, ¨Fail safe¨ , ¨ Morning after¨, ¨The hill¨ , ¨Dog day afternoon¨, ¨Murder on the Orient Express¨ , ¨Network¨ , ¨The Anderson tapes¨and his best considered one : ¨12 angry men¨ . In 2005 , Sidney Lumet received a well-deserved honorary Academy Award for his outstanding contribution to filmmaking. Rating . 6.5/10 . Above average . Well worth watching .