This sounds like it fits in with two later Lumet films, Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), and especially Q & A (1990) with Nick Nolte's profane crooked cop. It also seems like a movie to watch once, be stunned by, and maybe hope never to see again.
Perversely, I think the subject matter would be easier to deal with if Johnson was a corrupt cop, but he isn't - in fact, there's a scene where he bristles at the prospect of a pint on the house. When I wrote about it for Noir City ("My Favourite Neo-Noir"), I remember telling Vince that "at least I'll never have to watch it again", which is a weird thing to feel about a movie I genuinely like, but yeah ... it sticks to the ribs, this one.
I greatly enjoyed your description and analysis of a film I have never seen. Thanks also for your reference (in the first footnote) to Nightingales. I loved that show.
Thanks for recommending this strangely obscure movie! When Connery died I couldn't think of a single Connery film that I thought was objectively very good. Now I know better, for Connery is amazing in THE OFFENCE! I am also a Birtwistle fan, but this evocative electronic score was likewise new to me. Currently listening to another collaboration of Birtwistle with Peter Zinovieff (who treated the instruments in THE OFFENCE) from the same era, "Chronometer," which is based on the sounds of Big Ben and Wells Cathedral. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YvO6pDmEnc
Your mileage may vary, but The Hill, The Molly Maguires, The Man Who Would Be King and Robin and Marian are all at least interesting. But he is truly amazing in The Offence.
I did enjoy it, but maybe because I'm a writer and I admired how well Lumet and the writer kept you off balance throughout. At one point I thought Connery's character might actually be the killer. Really memorable
It really does play like Johnson is either the killer or has some intimate knowledge of the crime beyond the investigation. In a way, I'm glad it's underseen - saves us from the "Sean Connery is the REAL KILLER like and subscribe" YT explainer-conspiracy videos.
This sounds like it fits in with two later Lumet films, Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), and especially Q & A (1990) with Nick Nolte's profane crooked cop. It also seems like a movie to watch once, be stunned by, and maybe hope never to see again.
Perversely, I think the subject matter would be easier to deal with if Johnson was a corrupt cop, but he isn't - in fact, there's a scene where he bristles at the prospect of a pint on the house. When I wrote about it for Noir City ("My Favourite Neo-Noir"), I remember telling Vince that "at least I'll never have to watch it again", which is a weird thing to feel about a movie I genuinely like, but yeah ... it sticks to the ribs, this one.
I greatly enjoyed your description and analysis of a film I have never seen. Thanks also for your reference (in the first footnote) to Nightingales. I loved that show.
Must ... resist ... urge to ask, "Anybody there?"
Well played, sir, well played.
Thanks for recommending this strangely obscure movie! When Connery died I couldn't think of a single Connery film that I thought was objectively very good. Now I know better, for Connery is amazing in THE OFFENCE! I am also a Birtwistle fan, but this evocative electronic score was likewise new to me. Currently listening to another collaboration of Birtwistle with Peter Zinovieff (who treated the instruments in THE OFFENCE) from the same era, "Chronometer," which is based on the sounds of Big Ben and Wells Cathedral. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YvO6pDmEnc
Your mileage may vary, but The Hill, The Molly Maguires, The Man Who Would Be King and Robin and Marian are all at least interesting. But he is truly amazing in The Offence.
I did enjoy it, but maybe because I'm a writer and I admired how well Lumet and the writer kept you off balance throughout. At one point I thought Connery's character might actually be the killer. Really memorable
It really does play like Johnson is either the killer or has some intimate knowledge of the crime beyond the investigation. In a way, I'm glad it's underseen - saves us from the "Sean Connery is the REAL KILLER like and subscribe" YT explainer-conspiracy videos.