MovieChat Forums > The Offence (1973) Discussion > The offence

The offence

posted 20 years ago by med77_99
6 replies | jump to latest

I remember seeing this movie around 7-8 years back in cable TV, i was young back then and i was more into action packed movies, but since i was a sean connery fan i gave it a try.
I didnt like it much back then, i could'nt tolerate the psychological drama included in the movie,

Now, 7 years later, i bought the DVD because im statrting a special connery collection, and i forgot much of the movie since the last time i saw it.
And to my surprise, this was a great movie, a real classic, and one of sean connery's best movie performance.
I enjoyed much of the movie, the atmosphere, the drama, the acting were top notch, and connery was terrific. the plot is dark and gloomy, and the script takes us into the psyche of connery's character and reveals much of his mentality and the disturbing thoughts passing through it after the 20 years experience in his job in the police force.

The only problem with this movie, is that i could'nt really tell (spoiler) if the suspect whom connery was interogating was really the killer or not ???
Or did connery himself assulted the girl only he forgot about it, i mean the girl was so terrified when connery found her later in the woods, she was afraid of him and asking him not to harm her.
Could it be that connery's character flipped , and being affected by his disturbed mentality that he started to become evil himself ???
And it was he who actually assulted the girl only he did'nt remember it ??

If any of you guys knows the conclusion of the ending, please reply.

[–] DC1977 20 years ago

The Connery character didn't assault the girl. The girl was frightened when she saw him as any girl would be scared of seeing anyone (especially a man) after being raped.

Sergeant Johnson starts to think like a criminal because he has spent so long examining the result of their actions. This is why Lumet insert shots of Johnson and Janie Edmonds relaxed together as part of a potential sexual fantasy.

We never know whether the suspect was the rapist (not murderer) but in the end the true identity of the rapist is not what the film is about.

The Offence is a psychological character study and the interrogation and eventual beating of the suspect allows us to see what 20 years in the police force has done to Sergeant Johnson.

[–] med77_99 20 years ago

Thanx alot for clearing that up for me, and yeah i ment the rapist not murderer !
However, in the movie its not clear wether or not sean's character actually raped the girl, i mean it is possible that he did given the mental complexity he was in.
And i know that the movie was focusing on the psychological condition of sean's character, however i still thought we had to know who raped the girl, it would have given us some closure that was missing at the end of the movie.
anyhow, a great classic.

[–] schebelek 20 years ago

I think Lumet wanted to blur the details as to save from telling whether the suspect is the rapist or not. If he had, then we would not judge Connery's character with proper objectivity. Say the suspect was really the murderer. We would probably say that he deserved dying and be happy, go home and have a drink after seeing the movie. That's not the point.
I think Sidney Lumet loves stories of justice. He makes the audience identify with Sergeant Johnson and then turn him into a wanna-be-pervert! Confess. You wanted the suspect to BE GUILTY. I mean I did my best to refrain from any such wants.
Anyway, the mud on the suspects hands, the scratch. They all tell he was not in the movies but in the woods and had some fight. However, we cannot tell he is guilty. "We haven't seen him do it." as the Superintendent remarks.

[–] ContinentalOp 19 years ago

'The Offense' is a great film, as people have said the film isn't really about whether or not the suspect is guilty (though the way he goes on just before he was beaten to death to me does make it seem like it was him).

This film is a case study of man that feels guilty and has horrible fantasies that are driving him insane. I like the fact that it doesn't tell us if the suspect is guilty or not, as it leaves the story as it is, an interesting look at a chracter.

Anyway, if you are in England and have Sky digital, it is on Sky Cinema2 tonight.

[–] DC1977 19 years ago

I think the key line in the film is when Connery is talking to Howard about Bannen, he says:

'His mind was crawling with pictures of that girl. Her naked body covered in mud.'

There is no way he can know this. So at this point I think he is describing his own thoughts, not those of Baxter.

So the character of Johnson has been corrupted by what he has seen.

[–] 19 years ago

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