The Accused (1988)
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A victim of a brutal gang rape seeks justice through a determined assistant district attorney.
The story
After being gang-raped at a local bar while onlookers cheer, waitress Sarah Tobias faces a legal system that initially favors a plea deal for her attackers. Her assistant district attorney, Katheryn Murphy, initially accepts a deal that allows the rapists to plead guilty to a lesser offense. However, after Sarah is harassed by one of the men who encouraged the assault, Katheryn feels a sense of guilt and decides to pursue a more rigorous prosecution against the men who witnessed and cheered the crime. This decision forces the case into a public trial where Sarah can finally tell her story and seek true justice.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
On April 18, 1987, Sarah Tobias is gang-raped at a bar while others watch and cheer. Assistant district attorney Katheryn Murphy is assigned to the case but, doubting Sarah's credibility due to her 'checkered past,' agrees to a plea bargain where the rapists plead guilty to reckless endangerment. Sarah feels betrayed by this decision. Months later, Sarah is harassed by one of the men who cheered the assault and is hospitalized after a car collision. Feeling guilty, Katheryn decides to prosecute the men who cheered for criminal solicitation. This move nullifies the plea deal and ensures the rapists face more severe consequences. During the trial, Sarah testifies about the assault. Katheryn discovers a 911 call from a witness, Kenneth Joyce, who agrees to testify about the men's behavior. The three rapists are found guilty of criminal solicitation, and the case ends with Sarah and Katheryn leaving the courtroom triumphantly.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jonathan Kaplan
- Writers
- Tom Topor · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kelly McGillis · Katheryn Murphy; Jodie Foster · Sarah Tobias; Bernie Coulson · Kenneth Joyce; Leo Rossi · Cliff 'Scorpion' Albrecht; Ann Hearn · Sally Frazer; Carmen Argenziano · Paul Rudolph; Steve Antin · Bob Joiner; Tom O'Brien · Larry
- Genres
- legal drama; crime drama
- Themes
- classism; misogyny; post-traumatic stress disorder; slut shaming; victim blaming; women's empowerment
- Tone and mood
- serious; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- legal drama; crime drama; based on actual events; courtroom drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- loosely inspired by the 1983 gang rape of Cheryl Araujo in New Bedford, Massachusetts
- Reception
- The film received widespread acclaim from critics, with many praising the performances of the cast and authentic portrayal of its subject matter. It was also selected by the National Board of Review as one of its Top Ten Films of 1988.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · scale: percentage · review count: 27; Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Actress · win
- Production trivia
- The film received the lowest scores in the history of Paramount Pictures during initial test screenings.; The script originally featured a billiard table, but it was changed to a pinball machine to avoid potential lawsuits.; The rape scene was so intense that one actor reportedly vomited in his trailer after the scene was finished.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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