The Offence (1972)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

John Hopkins (play)
John Hopkins (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 May 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

After 20 years what Detective-Sergeant Johnson has seen and done is destroying him.

Plot:

A burned-out British police detective finally snaps while interrogating a suspected child molester.

Plot Keywords:

Police Custody | Dead Body | Child Molester | Deep Focus | Rogue Cop

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Detective Sergeant Johnson
Trevor Howard	...	Lieutenant Cartwright, Detective Superintendant
Vivien Merchant	...	Maureen Johnson
Ian Bannen	...	Kenneth Baxter
Peter Bowles	...	Detective Inspector Cameron
Derek Newark	...	Frank Jessard
Ronald Radd	...	Lawson
John Hallam	...	Panton
Richard Moore	...	Garrett
Anthony Sagar	...	Hill
Maxine Gordon	...	Janie Edmonds, the Raped Girl
Hilda Fenemore	...	Woman on Common
Rhoda Lewis	...	Woman at School
Cynthia Lund	...	Child at School
Howard Goorney	...	Lambert

Also Known As:

Something Like the Truth

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1973) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1989) | UK:15 (DVD rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | France:U | Australia:M | Norway:18 (1973) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Arncliffe, Wildridings, Bracknell, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Tantallon

Trivia:

The movie took just one month to film, at a low cost of $1 million. Despite this and excellent notices, it failed to make any profit for nine years, and went unreleased in several countries including the major market of France.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Inside 'Diamonds Are Forever' (2000) (V)

I would not have your thoughts.

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 a 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 supporting cast is up to scratch.