MovieChat Forums > The Offence (1973) Discussion > Spoiler...Why didn't Johnson....

Spoiler...Why didn't Johnson....

posted 14 years ago by Gabe1972
10 replies | jump to latest

Why didn't Johnson identify himself as a policeman when he found the girl? Instead, he takes his coat off, keeps saying "it's all right" and "I'm not going to hurt you", then gets on top of the girl and pins her arms down. Sheesh, no wonder she was scared to death. If I was her I would have been scared to death, too. Also, as a couple of other people have stated, he looked to be almost enjoying caressing her hair and such. The way he treated her almost made me sick. It was disturbing enough that I basically was just kind of dumbfounded through the rest of the movie.

The first thing any other cop, or any person for that matter, would have done is cover her with his coat, not take it off and get on top of her.

If your nose runs and your feet smell, you were built upside down.

[–] michaeldecker 14 years ago

But I think that was the whole point of the film! He enjoyed the sensation of being alone with the dishevelled girl far too much, and even at one point licked his lips as he looked at her. He didn't call for help, he didn't reassure her, he just leered. Baxter caught on to that during the interrogation, and that's part of the reason he died.

Best indicator was that later in the film Johnson fantasises the same closeness with the same girl, only this time the sun is shining and she's happy.

Great film. Slow paced, but a slow burn too - creeps up on you just how good this film is. The only thing that ruined it for me was the ridiculous arrest of Baxter in the first place - first there's the odd assumption that the attacker would be walking around the streets later on in the evening of the attack (why?), then there's the fact that Baxter was arrested for no reason whatsoever - he was wandering around drunk, but the next moment was arrested and being interrogated. No evidence whatsoever, apart from his trousers being muddy?

[–] Gabe1972 14 years ago

Ahhhh, that makes sense now. I had missed a couple of scenes when I left the room twice for something, so I thought maybe I had missed something, but I see it now.

So in the end, the perpetrator was probably still out there, right? It wasn't the cop, even though he was creepy, and the chances of it being the guy who was killed is ridiculously low, correct?

If your nose runs and your feet smell, you were built upside down.

[–] michaeldecker 14 years ago

Correct - still out there I reckon. *Certainly* wasn't the cop, and doubtful it was the other bloke

[–] whraglyn-2 14 years ago

The two cops in the car noticed him fall to his knees on the foot viaduct, then saw him struggle to rise, stumble and stagger as if disoriented or intoxicated. He failed to respond to their three queries, thus they had to take him in custody for his own safety.

While in custody, they noticed muddy shoes, knees, coat, and two rather obvious deep scratches along his right temple; wound location and type suggest strongly they were made with a raking motion using dull, weak blades similar in size and shape to oh, say, a ten year old girls' fingernails, shall we say?

Also, remember the stupid woman who saw the kidnapping yet waited hours to report the description of the rapist to police? Combining the reported description, the appearance of the suspect, and their own combined experience, is how they were sure it was Baxter.

Your point in re the crook walking around as he did after such a heinous crime is well taken. Speculation is useless at best, but perhaps he was actually drunk?

It seemed the police had to wait a bit for him to sober up enough to question.
His state of mind at the time of the rape must have been a bit unhinged, as the meeting between he and his victim was in broad daylight, in full view of possible witnesses, and he showed no sign of tension, let alone fear, as he engaged his victim.

Cheers!

[–] SteveResin 11 years ago

That scene where he found her was very creepy, and alarm bells started ringing in my head about Connery's character. I haven't seen this in a long while but I'm sure he copped a feel of the girl? I remember his hand moving from her shoulder to her breast, and almost pinning her down... or is that in the 'fantasy' scene where it's daylight and she's smiling at him?

--------------------
Duty Now For The Future

[–] Gabe1972 11 years ago

I don't think he touched her anywhere like that, I just remember the fact that she didn't want to be touched at all and he was insistent on getting on top of her and pinning her arms down. It was surely creepy. It made me think that maybe he was a little odd himself, if you catch my drift. I could be wrong, as I haven't seen it in quite some time either, but the scene did creep me out.

If your nose runs and your feet smell, you were built upside down.

[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

Yeah, well, that´s the point - the onset of troubling moral confusion in Johnson. He was beginning to understand folks like Baxter a bit too well.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] Gabe1972 11 years ago

That part most assuredly came across. I imagine that's why he ended up killing him Baxter when Baxter was telling him he was just like him, or something like that. Again, it's been a while, so I don't remember too well, but I do remember that he killed him because he had a point that Johnson couldn't really deny.

If your nose runs and your feet smell, you were built upside down.

[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

Yeah, it´s like by suppressing/killing Baxter he sought to suppress/kill the dark, ugly side of himself that was rearing its head and which he feared.

Btw, reading the entire thread now, I realize my point was already made by another poster... so a bit redundant there.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] garp-26 8 years ago

Baxter was probably picked up at first for being drunk and disorderly, a condition the police might have been less tolerant of in the UK circa early 70s. Seems a bit harsh when up to then his only crime appears to have been staggering around a bit in a stupor. Then when he was unable and/or unwilling to explain the scratches and also the dirt on his clothes, and in the absence of any other leads from combing what appears to be a small to medium sized town, the police feel they might as well detain him for further questioning. Followers of the first couple of series "Life on Mars" will be used to how seemingly easy it was to arrest suspects on little more than intuition or sheer vindictiveness. Baxter's misfortune was to not only be the wrong suspect at the wrong time but also retaining his supercilious arrogance throughout his detention and then taunt the physically bigger, confused and volatile Johnson about the policeman's now apparent demons. The film ends with children singing against discordant music so I think that either the real criminal is still walking about or it's a reminder of the reality that there are other potential sex offenders ready to pick up this sick baton.