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The Offence
The Offence is a 1973 British neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet starring Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant, and Ian Bannen. Connery plays a veteran police detective who suffers a psychological breakdown and kills a suspect during an interrogation. The screenplay was written by John Hopkins, who adapted his 1968 stage play This Story of Yours.
Released by United Artists on January 11, 1973, the film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Connery and Bannen's performances. Bannen was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role.
The Offence was the third of five collaborations between Lumet and Connery, and one of five films Lumet produced in the United Kingdom during the 1960s and '70s.
Detective Sergeant Johnson has been a police officer for twenty years and is deeply affected by the murders, rapes and other violent crimes he has investigated. He is plagued by images of violence, and he appears to be losing his mind under the strain. His anger surfaces while interrogating Kenneth Baxter, who is suspected of raping a young girl. By the end of the interrogation, Johnson has severely beaten Baxter, who is taken to hospital and later dies.
Johnson is suspended for the beating and returns home for the night, getting into a violent argument with his wife Maureen. Two of Johnson's colleagues come to inform him of Baxter's death and take him to the police station for questioning. The following day, Johnson is interviewed by Detective Superintendent Cartwright. During their long confrontation, flashbacks show the events of the previous night, when Johnson beat Baxter.
The flashbacks portray Baxter – whose guilt or innocence is left ambiguous – taunting Johnson, insinuating that Johnson secretly wants to commit the sort of sex crimes that he investigates. Johnson at first flies into a rage and strikes Baxter, but he eventually admits that he does indeed harbour obsessive fantasies of murder and rape. He then tearfully begs Baxter to help him. When Baxter recoils from him in disgust, Johnson brutally beats him while Baxter continues to taunt and laugh at him.
The film ends with another flashback, this time of Johnson attacking the police officers who pulled him off Baxter, and muttering "God...my God..." as he realises what he has done.
When Connery agreed to return as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever, David V. Picker, CEO of United Artists, pledged to back two of Connery's own film projects, provided they cost $2 million or less, in association with Connery's own production company, Tantallon Films. The Offence, made under the working title Something Like the Truth (a line that appears in John Hopkins' original play), was the first. Connery was keen to shake off the image of James Bond and expand his range as an actor.
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The Offence
The Offence is a 1973 British neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet starring Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant, and Ian Bannen. Connery plays a veteran police detective who suffers a psychological breakdown and kills a suspect during an interrogation. The screenplay was written by John Hopkins, who adapted his 1968 stage play This Story of Yours.
Released by United Artists on January 11, 1973, the film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Connery and Bannen's performances. Bannen was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role.
The Offence was the third of five collaborations between Lumet and Connery, and one of five films Lumet produced in the United Kingdom during the 1960s and '70s.
Detective Sergeant Johnson has been a police officer for twenty years and is deeply affected by the murders, rapes and other violent crimes he has investigated. He is plagued by images of violence, and he appears to be losing his mind under the strain. His anger surfaces while interrogating Kenneth Baxter, who is suspected of raping a young girl. By the end of the interrogation, Johnson has severely beaten Baxter, who is taken to hospital and later dies.
Johnson is suspended for the beating and returns home for the night, getting into a violent argument with his wife Maureen. Two of Johnson's colleagues come to inform him of Baxter's death and take him to the police station for questioning. The following day, Johnson is interviewed by Detective Superintendent Cartwright. During their long confrontation, flashbacks show the events of the previous night, when Johnson beat Baxter.
The flashbacks portray Baxter – whose guilt or innocence is left ambiguous – taunting Johnson, insinuating that Johnson secretly wants to commit the sort of sex crimes that he investigates. Johnson at first flies into a rage and strikes Baxter, but he eventually admits that he does indeed harbour obsessive fantasies of murder and rape. He then tearfully begs Baxter to help him. When Baxter recoils from him in disgust, Johnson brutally beats him while Baxter continues to taunt and laugh at him.
The film ends with another flashback, this time of Johnson attacking the police officers who pulled him off Baxter, and muttering "God...my God..." as he realises what he has done.
When Connery agreed to return as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever, David V. Picker, CEO of United Artists, pledged to back two of Connery's own film projects, provided they cost $2 million or less, in association with Connery's own production company, Tantallon Films. The Offence, made under the working title Something Like the Truth (a line that appears in John Hopkins' original play), was the first. Connery was keen to shake off the image of James Bond and expand his range as an actor.