The Offence (1973)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Offence (1973) – S. Lumet

Sean Connery apparently secured the opportunity to star in this film, essentially a showcase for his acting, as part of his agreement to return as James Bond in Diamonds are Forever (1971). It is a tough watch, adapted from his own play by John Hopkins and directed almost as if on stage by Sidney Lumet.  Connery plays a burnt-out detective sergeant on the hunt for a serial pedophile; when they bring in a suspect (Ian Bannen), he takes his gloves off to do the questioning.  Things turn sour immediately and Connery is suspended from the force before being questioned himself by the superintendent (Trevor Howard). Throw in a brutal argument with his wife and we’ve got a full measure of the unsavory man. Even with all that he's been through, it’s hard to see him as a victim – and Connery does not play him as one -- but he does offer a complex portrayal, full of self-doubt and self-delusion.  The final scenes, in flashback, show us in detail the interrogation between Connery and Bannen, in which Bannen (who may or may not be the pedophile) gets inside Connery’s head and messes with him. It does not end well for anyone.  Brutal, but Connery does succeed in distancing himself from Bond.