The Offence

This is a horrific feature length retelling of the joke from Saturday Night Live where Sean Connery confuses "therapist" with "the rapist."

Hah, they got me. The twist, when finally revealed, isn't really a twist at all. I waited patiently for a character arc or plot device that would warrant the painfully long road to the film's finale and all of the sudden, the closing credit started to roll. Huh? Still all the performances are amazing and Connery's characterization of a D.S. on the verge of a meltdown had me yelling "Anal Bum Cover" at my TV the whole time.

Bleak. Feels like a stage play, but the grimy, brutalist British "new town" setting fits well with the themes. Connery is great here, shifting between raw, bullying, brutal rage and remorseful, beaten vulnerability during three "interrogations" between himself and his wife, his superior and a suspected child molester. Bannen and Merchant also shine in their roles (note: nothing is shiny in this film). This won't be for everyone; it moves slowly and is quite joyless. I was impressed, though.

Stupid lens flare, and then a lot of walking- that just about sums up the first 45 minutes. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

An extremely gripping and sad story told theatrically, but, of course, this is Lumet. Even a stage play is shot in expertly crafted flash backs to create intrigue and tension. This is potentially Connery's best performance and he does so playing someone with numerous layers of moral ambiguity. A difficult but rewarding watch.

Bleak atmospheric drama boasts a strong performance by Connery as a cop buckling under the psychological weight of years of accumulated trauma. When it broods, it's effective, and the non-linear structure works to a point until the realization dawns that Lumet is simply jamming the narrative pieces together, hedging his bets on the impact of the 'final' confrontation to which all roads lead. Regrettably, it is a tad deflating, but it is an intense character study nonetheless.

Connery shines as a detective who assault a suspect. During three gruesome dialogue scenes, the first with his wife, the second with his superintended and the last with the suspect, it's revealed how all the horror of the job have traumatized him, making the distinction between him and perpetrator less clear.

I admired this film more than actually like it. It's very bleak and depressing; contains innovative editing and shades of Lumet's Fail-Safe for example. It just feels too claustrophobic and theatrical for me, even though it probably had more location scenes than some some other Lumet's films. It's also a film that would not get made today, and it was great to see Connery ace this role.

A very small, yet significant story that is allowed to give itself time for Johnson to get a thorough and thoughtfully paced development in a series of conversations (or interrogations) with other key characters. Very play-like, but this structure works well because of how incredible the actors, especially Connery, work with their material. Some of the nonlinear aspects help make this more filmic, as well as delve subjectively into Johnson's memory recollection (helped by the off-kilter music).

It's hard to be so mean to Connery here, but this movie was boring as hell, none of the characters are very interesting and it feels like a Hitchcock movie if Hitchcock allowed his movies to be crap.

Dark. It seemed promising at first, but the long final sequence didn't work so well, and ultimately I didn't buy the character study.

Great film.

69.000

Don't know what the hell to make of this. It thinks it's much cleverer than it actually is, and Connery is way, way out of his depth. But Lumet kind of makes it interesting, even if it's quite clearly based on a stage play. I really, I just, I have no idea.

Was trying to watch this and actually forgot I was watching a film it was so boring.

Interesting crime film that is built exclusively on the development (or deconstruction) of the main character. There will therefore be a lot of dialogue and little action. Highlight for the heavy atmosphere very well constructed by Lumet.

Interesting, but definitely not essential watching.

My only complaint is a plot twist too easily revealed - as early as 5 minutes in if memory serves.

"What better place to explore gay subtext than an all-male prison?" http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/05/episode-59-dark-side-of-sidney-lumet.html

Lesser known Lumet that is nonetheless very strong. It's based on a play and that shows, but Connery is exceptional in this in an intense and nuanced performance. Excellent stuff. It's not among Lumet's best, but that speaks more to the quality of his catalogue.