The Accused

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: October 14, 1988

8.0	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Ratings

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Steven1981May 8, 2020

The Accused is a 1988 crime drama directed by Jonathan Kaplan who also made "Unlawful Entry" which was a great film.... THE ACCUSED is basically about a gang rape of a young girl who was probably a bit high, bit drunk or both on the night butThe Accused is a 1988 crime drama directed by Jonathan Kaplan who also made "Unlawful Entry" which was a great film.... THE ACCUSED is basically about a gang rape of a young girl who was probably a bit high, bit drunk or both on the night but anyway the assault takes place at a bar or something called The Mill.. Kelly McGillis plays a prosecutor who helps Jodie Foster's character (Sarah Tobias) bring the suspects who raped her in to face trial and also the guys who clapped and cheered the rape itself. The actual rape scenes aren't very pleasant but it has great acting in this film especially from Kelly McGillis and even though Jodie Foster played the rape victim and did a good job I still don't understand why Kelly McGillis didn't receive an award also for her performance because she was beautiful and pretty cool and her acting was also great. The film has a pretty good story and is tense in some areas and the characters in the film are good and it doesn't rely on violence and if there is any present in the film it's to a low degree but sure some scenes may shock you especially the assault itself unless you like that thing. It's a clever film with a good story and as far as I'm concerned a classic and never gets boring no matter how many times you watch it. I liked Kelly McGillis in Top Gun (1986) but I also like The Accused and it's beautifully directed and Bernie Coulson who played Kenneth Joyce was also very good in The Accused and he testified helping put the guys guilty of criminal solicitation in regards to the rape away. It was great seeing Jodie Foster smoke a cigarette and dance in the backroom of the bar near the pinball machine but the rape scenes themselves were upsetting but all worked out well and justice was served. Also the chemistry between Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis was awkward in parts but it made the film more realistic and helped to develop the story more and see the frustration in Jodie Foster's face. Mostly the chemistry was great though and it worked so a must watch and a very powerful film!… Expand

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LamontRaymondFeb 27, 2018

Not a great first date movie - I think I saw it on a 3rd date - but it was really the first of its kind to really go there and seeks to hold onlookers accountable. I'm a bigger fan of McGillis than most of these critics - she wasn't all thatNot a great first date movie - I think I saw it on a 3rd date - but it was really the first of its kind to really go there and seeks to hold onlookers accountable. I'm a bigger fan of McGillis than most of these critics - she wasn't all that icy. And Foster is just amazing. What a brave performance.… Expand

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SAhe1Aug 30, 2018

Wonderful courtroom drama. Jodie Foster nailed it with her role as a rape,victim seeking justice. She deserved her first Oscar for this role. Kelly McGillis did a wonderful job playing Jodie's on-screen lawyer. This is such a heartbreakingWonderful courtroom drama. Jodie Foster nailed it with her role as a rape,victim seeking justice. She deserved her first Oscar for this role. Kelly McGillis did a wonderful job playing Jodie's on-screen lawyer. This is such a heartbreaking film it made me cry and not want to stop crying. Jodie Foster gives one of the greatest performances of all time.… Expand

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sureyoungSep 3, 2020

As one of those films so-called as born with a silver spoon, The Accused, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, starring Kelly McGillis and Jodie Foster, has left the strongest impression on audience for decades, as it is the first mainstream filmAs one of those films so-called as born with a silver spoon, The Accused, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, starring Kelly McGillis and Jodie Foster, has left the strongest impression on audience for decades, as it is the first mainstream film dealing with the gang-rape issue in the USA, quoted in the film as “In the United States of America, a rape is reported every six minutes. One of every four rape victims is attacked by two or more assailants.”

Most of the film’s merits have counted on Jodie Foster’s extraordinary performance. She’s as good as it gets in terms of both revealing her innermost struggle with restraint and concealing her outrage with nonviolence. What exactly happened on Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) can’t be articulated from the opening scene, in which, at night, an obvious rape victim is running out of a sleazy bar with herself shouting hoarsely. Then, as most melodramas goes, she meets Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis), the assistant district attorney who will take her case. And as most human beings will do, when Sarah is showing her physical and psychological trauma, sympathy and compassion will rain cats and dogs. However, something in the film seems wrong. Her attire, deportment, temper, disposition, personality, demeanor, diction, tone, accent, hairdo, wisdom, all of them are low enough to affect Kathryn’s emotion against her. Unsurprisingly, Sarah is that kind of flapper who smokes dope, is often drunken, likes to hang around. Although she has a decent job as a waitress and a boyfriend as a drug dealer, her previous conviction on drug possession charges, and to be worse, her drinking on the night of the crime which has made herself a seemingly coquette, have involved Kathryn in a dilemma that she’s not confident in Sarah and chances of the final winning, not to mention that one of the rape suspects is a young fraternity man who’s born with a silver spoon so that a good lawyer is served for him. As a Chinese film critic who’s never been involved in a lawsuit, I’m unfamiliar enough to explain the compromised plea bargain offered to those three men who have brutally gang-raped Sarah, and who, as a result of the agreement of charges as “reckless endangerment”, get off on a lesser charge so that the prospect of parole is quite generous. Outraged as she is, Sarah feels betrayed, – apparently, at that night, when being raped, cheer, whistle and howl are collateral from those onlookers who are rubbernecking, so furiousness is fastened, and fastness is farther. Humiliation and rage of Sarah has outbroken and resulted in a car crash due to the insulting encounter with one of those onlookers who’s exceptionally nagging and teasing. This turning point in the film has provoked the natural-born sense of justice of Kathryn as a female D. A., therefore she’s determined to convict the onlookers who would be guilty of “criminal solicitation”. By being informed of that Jodie Foster's Best Actress Oscar win was this film's only Oscar nomination, undisputedly, The Accused is not as good-looking as you may expect. In fact, at the time of the film's release, the film was highly controversial because of the gang-rape scene. It was the longest, most graphic, and most realistic depiction of a sexual assault in cinematic history. Between flashbacks and the chronological order, the gang-rape is detailed daringly, close to the end of the film.

With the pivotal testimony from Ken, the ultimate win of the lawsuit has not only sentenced three instigators into the prison, but also blew away three rapists’ odds-on escape by crafty scheme. It’s a film that has an intense anti-rape stance and condemnation of rape culture overall. However, it’s not a film that questions the system, on the contrary, it defends the system, makes a pitch for it, blow its own horn. Briefly speaking, as a frivolous woman as she looks in the film, Sarah, potentially regarded as being served right, is impossible to win the lawsuit if the system is not suitable. The stormy criticism about the gang-rape scene has indirectly testified the film’s hypocrisy and inappropriateness though the movie got a positive review overall. In fact, many stars turned down the script because the gang-rape scene was too explicit and exploitative. The argument could be made, however, the movie is based on a real incident that did happen in real life. After all, maybe there is value that showing the audience what really happened can make them feel the pain and humiliation a rape must have caused. Although The Accused is unpleasant, it was also potent.… Expand

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geewahJan 29, 2021

A brutal and engrossing film on the trauma involved in the act and subsequent effects of rape.
Foster thoroughly deserved her Oscar for her performance.

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