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Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Leo Rossi, Ann Hearn ... see more see more... , Carmen Argenziano , Steve Antin , Tom O'Brien , Peter Van Norden , Woody Brown , Allan Lysell , Gary Chalk , Babs Chula , Linda Darlow , Stephen Dimopoulos , Frances Flanagan , Michelle Goodger , Deryl Hayes , Thomas Heaton , Christianne Hirt , Anthony Holland , Kim Kondrashoff , Gloria Lee , Tom McBeath , Kevin McNulty , Terry David Mulligan , Barney O'Sullivan , Scott Paulin , Garwin Sanford , Dana Still , Jerry Wasserman , Rose Weaver , Denalda Williams , Mike Winlaw , Stephen E. Miller , Andrew Kavadas , Freda Perry , Veena Sood , Rebecca Toolan , Pamela Sue Martin , Wally Marsh , Dave Sheridan

Based on a real-life 1983 incident, The Accused tells the story of Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster), a working-class party girl who likes to live it up with her friends and flirt hard with the guys. After ... read more read more...a fight with her boyfriend, she heads to a local bar to cool down -- and after a few drinks, plus some dancing and flirting, she finds herself thrown on top of a pinball machine and gang-raped by a bunch of locals, while others watch and cheer the proceedings. District attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) takes Sarah's case but quickly negotiates a plea bargain in which the attackers' charges are reduced to reckless endangerment. Her reason: defense attorneys could use Sarah's not-so-pretty past to paint her as "asking for it," getting their clients off completely. But a stunned Sarah accuses Murphy of selling her out, and when the lawyer sees how the incident continues to destroy Sarah's life, she decides she must seek true justice. This time, she goes after the crowd of onlookers for "criminal solicitation" -- those who were egging the rapists on. Foster won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

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76% liked it

19,572 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

19 critics

R, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Jonathan Kaplan

Release Date: October 14, 1988

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DVD Release Date: April 16, 2002

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Stats: 717 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (717)

  • blkbomb
    January 12, 2012
    blkbomb
    Sarah Tobias: What the hell are you talking about? You saw me at the hospital, what you think I asked for that? Is that what you think? 

    "The first scream was for help. The second is for justice."

    What this film does well is show a different side to a rape. It shows what some b... read moreelieve to be true. That when a woman is raped, it is because she is asking for it. A lot of the people in this movie do just that. She was dancing around, drinking, having a good time; so it's alright to mount her up against the pinball machine. This movie reminded me of an argument I was in one time. We were talking for awhile, and the subject got around to abortion. Seeing as I'm prochoice, I was arguing with a guy who was on the other side of the issue. I finally asked him what if a woman was raped and impregnated? Would it be okay for her to have an abortion? To this, he said "No... this women are always asking for it." I left it at that.

    Now to be totally honest, I didn't really care for the movie as a whole. It's weirdly dated and almost feels like a tv movie. The score is awful, and the performances, for the most part, are average at best. There is one exception and the only reason I would give this a recommendation and say it is worth watching and that is Jodie Foster. Her performance here won her an Oscar. She would go on to win another for her performance in Silence of the Lambs as well, but this was her first. I don't know if this performance was totally deserving of an Oscar, but it was pretty damn good.

    The Accused revolves around a woman who was gang-raped while at a bar. The men who raped her get off pretty easy and the woman's lawyer feels bad about that, and takes all the men who were cheering the rape of to court. The reasoning behind the men who raped her getting off easy is sad. Because she had a history of partying and smoking weed; she was an unreliable witness. Still I don't think the movie generates enough questions about that. To me that was the whole movie, and it just wasn't done that well.

    Watch it for one of Jodie Foster's career defining roles. I went into expecting an amazing movie, but I'll admit that I came away from it fairly disappointed. It isn't the masterpiece I thought it was going to be, and
    everything outside of Foster's performance is average at best.
  • Deano78
    October 18, 2010
    Deano78
    A decent film, looking a little dated now. Not the best performances of either of the two leads, personally surprised to read Jodie got an Oscar for this? It's not really a courtroom drama either. An interesting story never the less which will make you want to see the outcome.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 13, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    The first scream was for help. The second is for justice.
  • TheGame90
    November 10, 2009
    TheGame90
    Good movie....it pretty much lets the story do the job.
  • kiriyamakazou
    September 19, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    The Accused starts off bravely by omitting the rape scene itself. It keeps us guessing as to whether or not a rape has taken place. It's also the perfect place for us as the audience in a legal drama such as this. The beginning also details the horrors a victim must go through af... read moreter the rape itself. Countless pictures being taken, the most personal of questions being asked, having to return to the scene and worst of all the seedy world of law where deals are struck undermining the term justice. Foster is magnificent in a balanced performance of a strong woman who has been severely hurt. She makes no apologies for the way she dresses or acts and nor should she. McGillis is equally as engaging as a woman faced with many moral dilemmas. She can easily have the men put away, but not for the crimes they committed. It is only in the last part where we enter the courtroom does Hollywood get a grasp on proceedings. There's never any doubt as to what the verdict will be and this removes some very important tension.
  • thmtsang
    July 14, 2007
    thmtsang
    Jodie does an excellent job. Well worth the Oscar but the content of the movie is very disturbing.
  • jjnxn
    May 2, 2007
    jjnxn
    jodie's dynamite, the film less so
  • 76Majikat
    April 4, 2007
    76Majikat
    Jodie Foster plays an amazing role in this film. A powerfull film
  • garyX
    January 7, 2007
    garyX
    An earnest and worthy examination of a sensitive subject. Being a product of the cultural vacuum that was the 80s, it still feels overly sensationalist, but strong performances from the two female leads wins through.
  • deano
    November 19, 2006
    deano
    Great performance from Jodie Foster is the best thing about this truth-based tale of the waitress who goes to court after being gang-raped in a bar.

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Critic Reviews

Clint Morris
February 7, 2006
Clint Morris, Film Threat

Possibly the best performance Foster has even given, and the best of its type

Emanuel Levy
December 18, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

In her first Oscar-winning role, Jodie Foster plays Sarah Tobias, a fast-food waitress who's gang-raped ina roadside table. In the course of the film, she transforms from a good-time hard-drinking gir... Full Review

Pablo Villaca
January 13, 2004
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

A atuação intensa e corajosa de Jodie Foster quase redime um filme que, graças à direção burocrática de Kaplan, parece ter sido realizado para a televisão.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
July 19, 2003
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Provides a searing account of a gang rape through the story of two women who speak out against this violent crime Full Review

Fred Topel
July 14, 2003
Fred Topel, About.com

Powerful rape drama.

David Nusair
November 8, 2002
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...the movie's certainly worth seeing, if only for Foster's award winning performance. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

A sobering and seriously well-acted tale of rape and retribution.

James Kendrick
June 13, 2002
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

has a slightly torrid made-for-TV feel to it ..., but is elevated by the superb performances and genuinely empathetic stance its takes

Christopher Null
April 7, 2002
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Enough of a social commentary to make it worthwhile Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

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The Accused Trivia

  • What movie is about the lives of guards on death row leading up to the execution of a wrongly accused man who has the power of faith healing?  Answer »
  • Name the movie that stars Kelly McGillis as the female prosecutor, defending Sadie Tobias' (played by Jodie Foster)questionable reputation in a rape trial against a group of men?  Answer »
  • Which of the preceding films was NOT directed by Alford Hitchcock?  Answer »
  • Which actress has starred in all of the following films? Taxi Driver Contact Inside Man The Accused  Answer »
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