10 Underrated Films By Amazing Directors

While 12 Angry Men, Network and to a lesser extent The Hill, will probably be remembered as Sidney Lumet's true masterpieces, it’s easy to see how something like The Offence has managed to remain out of the equation.

After agreeing to return as everyone’s favourite little sex pest James Bond in Diamonds are Forever, United Artists agreed to back two films under $2,000,000 that Sean Connery wanted to make. What came out of that was The Offence. Having worked together on both The Anderson Tapes and the aforementioned The Hill, Sidney Lumet was chosen as the director.

The film follows the story of Sean Connery’s Johnson (there is probably a better way that I could have chosen to word that) who “accidentally” kills a suspected child molester Kenneth Baxter (played by Ian Bannen) during a police interview. The film explores Johnson’s own deeply flawed logic in the murder of Baxter, his own hypocritical take on the crimes that he has put people away for and his ever-chipping away psyche as he deals with flashbacks and regular violent outbursts.

Though it’s by no means a fun-filled flick for all the family, it’s certainly a daring entry into the filmography of director and actor alike. It was a chance for Connery to shed himself of the weighty James Bond mantra that he had taken up and was also a chance for Sidney Lumet to really let the characters take shape before our very eyes.

The film’s impact cannot be underestimated, indeed, the iconic Joker interrogation scene from Christopher Nolan’s magnum opus The Dark Knight owes a huge amount to this film and countless other films that have drawn inspiration from it too.