Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 330: Sun Nov 25

The Offence (Lumet, 1972): Barbican Centre, 6.30pm
This film shows as part of the excellent Step Into The Dark season to celebrate the opening of brand new screens at the Barbican Cinema. More details here. Controversial visual artists Jake and Dinos Chapman join Gareth Evans for a discussion after the screening of their sinful selection, a film by Sidney Lumet, the celebrated director of 12 Angry Men, Serpico and Network.

Sean Connery stars as a police detective pushed to breaking point by his latest investigation, in this subtle study on police brutality and the line between legitimate questioning and torture.

Time Out review:
'Adaptation of a stage play (This Story of Yours) by John Hopkins (of Z Cars). Discreet as it is, the opening-out process (effected by Hopkins himself) has sabotaged the strange, claustrophobic duel in which a suspected child-molester (Bannen) and the cop obsessively convinced of his guilt (Connery) find themselves subtly changing places during the course of interrogation. Embedded in a 'realistic' police scene, dialogue and situations now have a ring of arty melodrama. Fascinating, nevertheless, with outstanding performances from Connery and (especially) Ian Bannen.'
Tom Milne

Here is an extract.

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