Wonderful character development!

The Age of Commercialism

Really Surprised!

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

I have watched 100's of movies in my years (I am 56 yrs old) almost 30 years later and watching for the umpteenth time, I am still in awe of Jodie Foster and the plot of this film. I know the beginning ..the middle.. and the end ..but my fav part is when Sarah crashes the attorney home party and tells her off! I will most likely see this again and again until the day I die, I have so many favorite films (amateur film buff) and this is one of them because of Foster's performance.

The Accused has three things that make it great: Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, and a case where lots of the blame is placed upon the victim. You must look at your own principles and see just how far in the wrong all the parties were, and the two leads make sure you think long and hard.Jodie Foster may be a child star, but this movie was her breakout role as an adult. Sure she did Taxi Driver before she was even a teenager, but in this we get the next stage of Jodie Foster. And out of all the roles in her illustrious career, I honestly think that her performance as Sarah Tobias stands as her best. Even better than Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. Sure Silence is a better film than The Accused, but looking at both of Foster's performances it is clear that Sarah comes out superior. While Foster was the standout and the movie as a whole did receive praise, I just wish that there was more praise towards Kelly McGillis. She actually was a victim of rape when she was was young and initially wanted the part of Sarah. But she does just fine as the determined prosecutor Kathryn Murphy. Jodie Foster isn't that much better than McGillis. She is, but just by a little bit. McGillis plays the role with such conviction and power. So the general story of The Accused is a trashy young woman gets gang-raped in the back of a bar after they all get drunk, so she gets a lawyer to bring justice. The max that the rapers will get is 5 years in jail, but they will likely get out in less than a year. This is because since all the parties got drunk and Sarah was practically putting on a sleazy sex show, so she arguably instigated and provoked her own rape. I'm not siding with the perps or sympathizing with them, but she needed to be the one to control how much alcohol and pot she consumed. She is pretty low-class so she must know that creeps hang out in bars, she must have experience. But this movie is trying to say that no matter what, rape is NOT okay. The other part of the case deals with the hecklers who cheered while the rape was in session. Those guys get put behind bars, and the actual rapers get the full sentence. The lawyer that defends the hecklers is incredibly stupid as I just kept saying "Duuuuhhhhh!!" every time he finished a sentence. It is also during this last act when a flashback of the rape is shown through the honest eyes of an onlooker too scared to intervene. Even if law does not interest you, watch it just for Kelly McGillis and Jodie Foster.

Ken Joyce runs out of a bar and calls the police about a rape. A disheveled Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) runs out soon after. Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) is the deputy district attorney taking the case. She is not happy with her drunkenness and drug test. They return to find the rapists still at the bar. Sarah is not the perfect victim and Kathryn is pessimistic about a conviction with no friendly witnesses. Kathryn does a deal angering Sarah. After Sarah is hospitalized confronting one of the cheering witnesses, Kathryn decides to charge the others who cheered on the rape.Jodie Foster is simply magnificent. She probably has less screen time than Kelly McGillis but her performance is on full power. She doesn't play an easy character. It is a fully realized complicated character.

The Accused came at a time when attitudes towards sex crimes was very much changing. It is commendable that it is actually so even handed, Jodie Foster's character goes to the police who believe her and their investigation is faultless. After we get into the courts things get trickier, Kelly McGillis DA must balance the demand for a trial with the appeal for a plea bargain which will spare the victim the ordeal and have more certainty of a conviction. Is she right or is she wrong? Once we get to the part where they start to prosecute the other bar patrons for cheering on the rapists you're really placed in a moral quandary, should these men be prosecuted even though they placed no part in the crime? Did they in a dark and noisy bar having been drinking all night even realise what was going on?Goes without saying that we have terrific performances from Foster and McGillis (whatever happened to her? with this, Top Gun and Witness she was a massive star in 1980s but then just seemed to stop making films altogether?). It's a brave decision in that Foster's character to basically be the DA's nightmare witness, admitting that she was drunk and drugged, had been dressed provocatively and dancing suggestively with her attackers (her strengths are that she has visible injuries and reported the crime immediately). The rape scene itself is horrible (never actually watched it, just fast forwarded through)but necessary to bring home the enormity of the crime.The ending is pretty downbeat and somehow a little disappointing although what did we expect? A good film although hard to watch