I’ve never thought of Sean Connery as a great actor. A great movie star, yes, but not necessarily a great actor. He’s been in some of my all-time favorite movies, from Outland and The Great Train Robbery to The Man Who Would Be King. He’s been in some flops worth watching only because he is in them, like Meteor and The Avengers. He was, is, and always will be James Bond 007, and he made cinema’s strangest costume somehow look cool in Zardoz.
At the core of every character in every movie, though, he’s always been the same to me: Sean Connery, movie star.
Then I watched The Offence, the 1973 crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon), and it forever changed how I look at Connery as an actor.
In the film, which costars Trevor Howard and Ian Bannen, Connery plays Detective Sergeant Johnson, a veteran officer specializing in investigating violent crimes such as murder and rape. Although he is good at his job, it’s clear that 12 years of seeing the worst in human behavior is taking its toll on DS Johnson, both at work and in his personal life. When a break in a case involving a series of brutal attacks on young girls leads to the apprehension of a suspect, DS Johnson takes the lead and interviews the suspect alone in the police interrogation room.
What follows is shocking to watch, both the events in the room and the aftermath. And while you may think you know what’s going to happen next, Lumet, working from a screenplay by John Hopkins (Murder By Decree), keeps the pressure building from scene to scene to an unnerving degree. His use of unpredictable camera angles, particularly in the scenes involving Connery and Howard, pulls you in so deeply you can almost feel the hot breath of the actors as they confront each other. His use of slow motion and other camera tricks at the film’s beginning may feel confusing but don’t overthink it. The payoff is worth it.
The great thing about Lumet’s work in The Offence is the way every shot, every cut, and every choice he and the cinematographer Gerry Fisher (Highlander) is made to support and enhance the performances on the screen. A lot of the “action” in The Offence is two characters talking in a room, but those senses are just as intense as the ones of the search team looking for the latest child victim. And it is in those scenes that Connery is such a revelation. DS Johnson is, at first glance, a tough-as-nails copper, a sort of James Bond on the beat instead of on Her Majesty’s Secret Service. But where Bond always looked like he was in total control, even when the bad guy’s laser beam was racing toward his crotch in Goldfinger, you know DS Johnson is close to the edge. Connery’s work is impeccable in the film’s big scenes, where it is clear his character has snapped. How he plays the smaller scenes, like his one at home with his long-suffering wife, Maureen (Vivien Merchant), makes you appreciate the talent on display.
The Offence was released two years after Diamonds Are Forever, Connery’s 6th appearance as 007, so playing DS Johnson is a bold and exciting choice for the actor. And if the imdb.com trivia page for the film can be believed, it wasn’t a particularly popular one with his fans. According to that page, “When Sean Connery agreed to return as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), as part of his deal, United Artists had to back two movies of his choice that would cost $2 million or less. This was to be the first; a Connery-directed version of “Macbeth” was to be the second. When this movie failed at the box office, and Roman Polanski beat Connery to the screen with Macbeth (1971), Connery’s version of “Macbeth” was canceled. … (The Offence) took just one month to film at a low cost of $1 million. Despite this and excellent (reviews), it failed to make any profit for nine years. It went unreleased in several countries, including the major market of France.”
The page also says, “Sean Connery said he enjoyed making this film much more than making Diamonds Are Forever.”
It’s an unfair comparison. It’s better to think that while Diamonds Are Forever checked all the boxes for an entertaining Connery/Bond film, The Offence masterfully colors outside the lines to paint a richer picture of the actor.
