Synopsis
After a young woman suffers a brutal rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.
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Cast
- Kelly McGillisKathryn Murphy
- Jodie FosterSarah Tobias
- Bernie CoulsonKenneth Joyce
- Leo RossiCliff "Scorpion" Albrect
- Ann HearnSally Fraser
- Carmen ArgenzianoD.A. Paul Rudolph
- Steve AntinBob Joiner
- Tom O'BrienLarry
- Peter Van NordenAttorney Paulsen
- Terry David MulliganLieutenant Duncan
Recommendations
- 100
Empire
Foster is simply fantastic as the tough Sarah, unshakeable in her belief that justice has not been done and that she has a right to demand it. McGillis, from a slow start, builds beautifully and by the time the action has switched to the courtroom, she has shed her starchy persona for a true advocate's passion. - 100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
An experience that is sometimes unbearable and always riveting. [14 Oct 1988] - 90
The New York Times
A consistently engrossing melodrama, modest in its aims and as effective for the cliches it avoids as for the clear eye through which it sees its working-class American lives. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
For some men, the movie will reveal a truth that most women already know. It is that verbal sexual harassment, whether crudely in a saloon back room or subtly in an everyday situation, is a form of violence - one that leaves no visible marks but can make its victims feel unable to move freely and casually in society. It is a form of imprisonment. - 70
Washington Post
Katheryn's summation was meant to be the final flourish, but McGillis gives a flat-footed performance. However, Foster overcomes McGillis' inertia, as the sweet-natured Sarah, a lonely little waitress who makes her home in a trailer park. Under her tight jeans and tough talk, she proves as fragile as a ballerina on a music box. Foster creates the ultimate victim without ever becoming a wimp, mixing dignity with defenselessness. The Accused must be acquitted of its misdemeanors if not for its good intentions, for this vibrant performance. - 63
Boston Globe
The Accused is far from a perfect film, but it's got a terrific performance by Foster, a pretty good one by McGillis, and Lansing's knack for casting women's issues in a form that makes people go see them at the movies. [14 Oct 1988, p.49] - 63
Miami Herald
The great film that The Accused could have been is in there. So is Foster's lovely, measured work, the work of an actress at the top of her art, and this in a supposed "comeback." Yes, darker and more sadistic passages have burdened many lesser movies. But this one has ambition, and this one has this performance. It's a hard movie to like; it's an impossible one to ignore. [14 Oct 1988, p.E1] - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Only a riveting performance by Jodie Foster lifts THE ACCUSED above the level of a television movie.
