The Accused

1988 • 110 minutes

About this movie

What are the limits of justice? Of social responsibility? The Accused takes a powerful and thought-provoking look at human nature and individual moral conscience, and a judicial process that treats the victim like a criminal. Jodie Foster gives an Oscar®-winning performance as the hard-living fiercely independent Sarah Tobias, who is gang-raped in the back of a neighborhood bar. But that is only the beginning of her ordeal. Now Sarah finds herself battling the legal system, not once but twice, as she and her attorney (Kelly McGillis) go after both her attackers and the onlookers whose cheering fueled and encouraged the assault.

Ratings and reviews

The rape scene is so gratuitously graphic, Foster broke her arm during filming. When an actress gets her arm broken during a rape scene, there is something very wrong. This story needed to be told, it deserved to be told, but the rape scene was basically a how-to. There's NO REASON to show step by step visually what happened. A better filmmaker could have achieved the same results, the same sense of vile and utter disgust at these men, and the men and women who looked on, without showing so much graphic detail. There are other ways of depicting violence through the medium of film. Again, a better filmmaker with creative cinematography could have approached the subject without such detail. That scene is a how-to for anyone who wants to assault someone. An injustice to the woman whom this story is based on.

I agree it will anger you if you decent human being. And 3 decades later I've still yet to see a equally or more graphic rape scene. And hopefully Never will. Aside from that I enjoy good court drama.

Powerful movie. They fought to get this made and it's hard to watch but that's the point. This is real. This happens. People need to understand that and learn from it. Don't just let it happen. Don't be that guy. Don't be that bystander.