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The Offence (1973)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
6/20
6/20:
Here's another time-waster from the Sean Connery-Sidney Lumet collaboration (their third out of five): The Offence.
What was shaping up to be a child serial killer picture got turned into
Closet Land, and I wasn't in the mood for it,
especially when the pace was so damn slow. Sidney Lumet seemed to forget he was supposed to make a movie. Instead, I'm
treated to the overlong show at a local community theater. In fact, The Offence is based on John Hopkins' stage play
This Story of Yours from 1968.
Effectively rid of his James Bond persona, Sean Connery is fiery and dominating, but it's the wrong medium for him to
give such a performance. Of course, his idiot character forgets to proceed further with the accusation by having
confirmed evidence in hand. Instead, what drives his unlawful actions is pure conjecture.
Given the meager budget of £385,000, the cinematography is nice which is often dark and depressing. It's the strongest asset
of the film. A lot of times, the feel, especially the torment that's shown by the protagonist, reminds me of Sidney
Lumet's much superior film Prince of the City.
All in all, when I thought The Anderson Tapes was bad, The Offence is way worse.