The Offence
The Offence | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
Screenplay by | John Hopkins |
Produced by | Denis O'Dell |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
Edited by | John Victor-Smith |
Music by | Harrison Birtwistle |
Production company | Tantallon |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $900,000[1] |
The Offenceis a 1973 Britishcrimeneo noirdrama filmdirected bySidney Lumetand starringSean Connery,Ian Bannen,Trevor HowardandVivien Merchant.[2]The screenplay was byJohn Hopkinsbased on his 1968 stage playThis Story of Yours.[1]
A police officer suffers a breakdown and kills a suspect.
Plot
[edit]Detective Sergeant Johnson has been a police officer for 20 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 then taken to the hospital where he 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 they take him to the police station for questioning.
The following day, Johnson is interviewed by Detective Superintendent Cartwright. During their long confrontation,flashbacksshow 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 ofsex crimesthat 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.
Cast
[edit]- Sean Conneryas Jason Johnson
- Trevor Howardas Cartwright
- Vivien Merchantas Maureen
- Ian Bannenas Baxter
- Peter Bowlesas Cameron
- Derek Newarkas Jessard
- Ronald Raddas Lawson
- John Hallamas Panton
- Richard Mooreas Garrett
- Anthony Sagaras Hill
- Maxine Gordonas Janie
- Hilda Fenemoreas woman on common
- Rhoda Lewis as woman at school
- Cynthia Lund as child at school
- Howard Goorneyas Lambert
Production
[edit]When Connery agreed to return asJames BondinDiamonds Are Forever,David V. Picker,CEO ofUnited 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.[3]The Offence,made under the working titleSomething Like the Truth(a line that appears inJohn Hopkins' original play), was the first. Connery was keen to shake off the image of James Bond and expand his range as an actor.[4]
Connery had previously worked with Hopkins when the writer had co-scriptedThunderballand had seen the play during its original run in London in 1968. Seeing potential in the story, Connery bought the option on the film rights and asked Hopkins to adapt the script for the big screen.[5]
Having made two films with Sidney Lumet,The Hill(1965) andThe Anderson Tapes(1971), Connery offered him the job of directing. Lumet accepted. Ian Bannen, who had also appeared inThe Hill,was hired as co-star.[6]
The film was shot on a small budget of £385,000 in March and April 1972 in and aroundBracknell,Berkshire,notably theWildridingsMill Pond area andEasthampstead's Point Royal. Interior sets were filmed atTwickenham Studios.[1]A collection of location stills and corresponding contemporary photographs is hosted at reelstreets.com.[7]
The fight sequences between Connery and Bannen were choreographed, uncredited, byBob Simmons,who had designed similar action scenes for the Bond films. The film was SirHarrison Birtwistle's only film score.[8]
United Artists releasedThe Offenceearly in 1973. It was a critical success but a commercial failure and did not yield a profit for nine years,[1]even going unreleased in several markets, includingFrance,where it did not premiere until 2007. Due to the commercial failure of the film, United Artists opted out of the two-film financing deal they made with Connery and his production company.
Reception
[edit]The Monthly Film Bulletinwrote: "The emphasis is on character – and particularly, of course, that of Johnson, vividly drawn as a man of limited sensibilities, trained to stifle emotion, brutalised by years of police work, and mentally battered into a sado-masochist frenzy... But there is little resolution beyond Johnson's climactic and inarticulate explosion of violence....The dialogue is too dense and sustained at too high a pitch for cinematic comfort and – no matter how much the camera may sniff restlessly around looking for fresh angles – the static, confined settings add to the general oppressiveness. The acting, too, appears out of sorts, although the parts are meaty enough: Sean Connery's hard, reticent style suits Johnson the acerbic copper, but never suggests the brand of high-tension playing called for in the principal scenes; while both Vivien Merchant and Trevor Howard seem curiously subdued in their set-pieces. The exception... is Ian Bannen who, as Baxter, brings off a minor tour de force with his depiction of bewildered, tormented hysteria. The saddest disappointment, though, is Sidney Lumet's portentous and leaden direction. Had he been able to inject the pace, crispness and audacity of his last film (The Anderson Tapes) into his latest, some of the underlying substance of John Hopkins' script might perhaps have emerged. "[9]
TV Guidewrote: "A powerful and complex performance by Connery is somewhat weakened by Lumet's typically stiff and stagey direction, which tends to sap the life out of the film."[10]
Accolades
[edit]Bannen was nominated for a 1974BAFTA awardfor Supporting Actor.[11]
Home media
[edit]In 2004, MGM UK released aDVDof the film which contained no extras or trailers. Simultaneous releases from MGM were made in otherPAL-format countries, such asGermanyandAustralia.On 20 October 2008, the film was again released on DVD in the UK byOptimum Releasing,again without extras or trailers. A FrenchRegion 2DVD, preserving the film's original ratio of 1.66:1, became available in 2009. In April 2010, MGM put the film out on a US DVD-R "on demand" for the first time. It is available as an exclusive fromAmazon.comand contains no extras.
In 2014 the film was released onBlu-rayin the US, and in 2015 it was released in the UK in the same format.
This Story of Yours
[edit]John Hopkins' original play,This Story of Yours,takes the form of three dialogues between Johnson and, in Act One, Maureen, then Cartwright in Act Two and Baxter in Act Three. Directed byChristopher Morahan,it opened at London'sRoyal Court Theatreon 11 December 1968. The cast was as follows:[12]
- Johnson –Michael Bryant
- Maureen –Alethea Charlton
- Cartwright –John Phillips
- Baxter –Gordon Jackson
- Policemen – Edward Clayton, Steven Barnes, Oliver Maguire, Colin Pinney
The first major revival of the play was directed byJack Goldat London'sHampstead Theatre,opening on 5 February 1987 with the following cast:[13]
- Johnson –David Suchet
- Maureen – Jane Wood
- Cartwright –Bryan Pringle
- Baxter –James Hazeldine
- Det Sgt Jessard – Richard Cubison
- Police Constables – Paul Fryer, Frederick Lane
References
[edit]- ^abcdBray, Christopher (2010).Sean Connery: The Measure of a Man.London, England:Faber and Faber.pp. 174–180.ISBN9780-571-23807-1.
- ^"The Offence".British Film Institute Collections Search.Retrieved13 June2024.
- ^Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn,Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion,BT Batsford Ltd, London 1997, page 99
- ^"The Offence review – Connery and Lumet's starkly naturalistic police drama".TheGuardian.com.14 June 2015.
- ^"THIS STORY OF YOURS – londonpubtheatres.com".www.londonpubtheatres.com.Archived fromthe originalon 20 June 2018.
- ^"Learning from the Masters of Cinema: Sidney Lumet's THE OFFENCE".4 May 2015.
- ^"Offence, The".ReelStreets.Retrieved5 March2022.
- ^Pfeiffer, Lee; Lisa, Philip (2001).The Films of Sean Connery.Citadel Press.ISBN9780806522234.
- ^"The Offence".The Monthly Film Bulletin.40(468): 13. 1 January 1973 – via ProQuest.
- ^"The Offence".TV Guide.Retrieved13 June2024.
- ^"Film, Supporting Actor in 1974".BAFTA.Retrieved14 June2024.
- ^Who's Who in the Theatre(15th edition), Pitman Publishing, London 1972, page 155
- ^This Story of Yoursa play by John Hopkins / Hampstead Theatre: programme by Stilwell Darby & Co Ltd: '1987 no 7'
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- The OffenceatIMDb
- The OffenceatRotten Tomatoes
- Original theatrical trailerforThe Offence
- ReviewatCinepassion.
- 1973 films
- 1973 crime drama films
- British police films
- British crime drama films
- 1970s English-language films
- British films based on plays
- United Artists films
- Films directed by Sidney Lumet
- Films about child sexual abuse
- Films about rape
- Films with screenplays by John Hopkins
- 1970s British films
- Films about police brutality
- English-language crime drama films