The Accused (1988)

After a young woman (Jodie Foster) suffers a brutal rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor (Kelly McGillis) assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.

First of all, is this Foster's worst haircut ever? Yes. The answer is yes. But that is really beside the point.

We know the classic story: someone is assaulted and then their personal life, their alcohol habits, their outfit come into question. That story is well-known. But this film takes it a step further: what about those who witness a crime and refuse to stop it, possibly even encouraging it? An interesting legal question, to be sure. But how will it play out in court? And does the way it plays out in the film mirror how it would go in real life? I suppose these are some philosophical, legal questions.

Fmovies: The shocking true story of a bar room gang rape is lifted from the headlines to become, with dramatic license, a serious and troubling study of sexism at its worst, when the victim herself is accused of 'asking for it'. Jodie Foster offers a courageous performance as the tough but vulnerable Sarah Tobias, whose behavior on the night of the crime was certainly provocative, but as the flashback re-enactment shows all too clearly no amount of provocation could justify such a brutal response. Up until those final scenes the film is a well-crafted but largely conventional topical drama, with lots of predictable bonding between Foster and her conscience stricken attorney Kelly McGillis. But the attack itself, teasingly saved until the final reel, is so graphic and degrading it obliterates the memory of everything that happened earlier. The scene is pure exploitation, but it serves a purpose, putting audiences in the same, ugly position as the cheering onlookers in the bar, who in many ways were even guiltier than the rapists themselves.

Gang Rapists are brought to Justice, but what about those Loathsome, Wretched, Disgusting Bystanders who Vicariously and by Proxy take part in the Assault. This is the Theme here and Caring, Sensitives will have Little Doubt that it is Sinful if not Illegal.

Jodie Foster's Oscar Winning Performance is, arguably, Justified because She no less then Dominates every Scene. However, this is partly Due to the Weakness of the Film as a whole. The Men Accused, Trial, and backdrop of the Movie are all so Flat, Uninteresting and Unremarkable it Weakens the Exposition and the actual Rape Scene seems Exploitative.

A Social Sickness ("a rape is reported in the US every 6 minutes") that certainly is Ineffectually Addressed and Approached is in dire Need of Our Attention and Consultation.

The Accused fmovies. I don't watch many courtroom dramas. I've seen most of the great ones: 12 Angry Men, Witness for the Prosecution, To Kill a Mockingbird. Of all the ones that predate The Accused, Not many push as far into the red zone as this. As you go back through the decades of Hollywood cinema, films get more and more censored. In parts, The Accused is quite brutal. It would probably have seemed even more so to those who viewed it upon release 20 years ago. There are two trials in this movie. For the first, the accused persons have been charged with rape. For the second, the accused persons (different people) are charged with the crime of cheering it on (to put it in more casual terms). What the movie gives us a taste of is extremely inhumane, worse than murder even. That and two good actresses at the top of their game, results in a credible, involving courtroom drama. The screenplay is a tad over written in some places, so it's not a brilliant movie, but it is a fine specimen to sample for those who enjoy this genre.

Perfectly knowing that a lot of people would get inspired, personally relate or cite examples from this film, there is no reason to deny that except for the rape victim Sarah Tobias, all the other main characters, even attorney Kathryn Murphy, are written blatantly as stereotypical as they can be. Same can be said about the atmosphere, circumstances and the participators of the incident. The screenwriters have played only one masterstroke by showing the whole rape incident much later in a flashback, which perhaps helps us to relate better to the victim's emotions.

However predictable and blunt the film appears in its formation, it delivers it message right with the help of the outstanding (and Oscar-winning) performance of Jodie Foster. She just plays her part with so much passion that sometimes it would seem that she really IS the victim. I wonder how she could get such a driving force for her role which is so powerful and vengeful, yet so helpless and fragile. It is the performance of her career, Clarice Sterling doesn't even come in comparison. Her job in this film should be treated as educational material.

I was appalled by one reviewers comments on this moving stating that a rape victim "got what she deserved". NO one Woman or man) deserves to be raped, violated or harmed just because they were at the wrong place.

This movie is based on a true story, and the actors were very moving. People make mistakes, being a PERSON that may be upset and choose to behave in a mannor not appropriately, yet when that Person chooses to stop and say NO, then No is it. No, Stop, Don't, these words do not mean, well, I ask for it. Anyone who thinks otherwise, I feel sorry for because they are sad, lonely and deprived of self worth.

Jodi Foster Is a great actress and put's all her strength in her roles. She is very talented and she and Kelly M. made this movie. Hopefully the person that had to endure this horrid act, is going on, with strenght and success.