Cheap The Accused (DVD) (Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster) (Jonathan Kaplan) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Accused

Jodie Foster's best performance!!!
This was one of the first major films to take on the subject of rape & how it affects people, It starts out at a bar where a young woman Sarah(Foster) is running out into the road screaming for help, she is picked up & taken to a hospital, we learn she has been gang-raped by three men in the bar & is quite shaken by the incident, we are then introduced to DA Katheryn Murphy(Kelly McGillis) who decides to take on the rape case, this is a powerful story that has the Justice System putting Sarah on trial so-to-speak about her demeanor on the night in question, Sarah not only has a questionable past, but was, as some suggest sexually provacative that night, fearing that the defense will victimize her at trial, Murphy decides to cut a deal that not only puts away the rapists but saves Sarah humility in court, the rape charge is reduced to Reckless Endangerment, which Sarah highly opposes but has no real say in the matter which infuriates her, soon she is out in public & crosses paths with one of the spectators that watched & cheered her rape on, in which she tries desperatley to get away from only to have her car blocked by his, while he taunts her some more, she then rams her car into his, not once but twice landing her in the hospital leaving him with some cuts & bruises, it is here that Murphy realizes the impact of her negotiation, & decides to put the spectators on trial for their encouraging the rape which to her bosses think is unwinable & controversial, based on a actual 1983 rape case, this film makes us question our justice system & its treatment of rape victims, & how they are usually put on trial for their character flaws, Jodie Foster greatly deserved the Oscar for her portrayal of Sarah, the viewer feels her pain & anguish & hopelessness to win against a system against her, but she & Murphy prevail, Murphy's closing argument regarding the incident is powerful & makes a good case, although the rape scene which is seen later in the film in flashback is brutal, it definately makes the viewer uneasy & makes you want to see Sarah get justice, very powerful & carries an important message regarding rape cases!!!

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Sensitive portrayal of rape, no "male-bashing" whatsoever
This is a difficult movie to watch at times but is worth it because Jodie Foster deftly portrays the struggle of a young woman to prosecute the men who gang-raped her, and the others who cheered on and instigated the crime. Her character determinedly fights against all odds to be as brave as possible when she has hardly any support from anyone, and even her lawyer seems to think she partly deserved to be raped. The film demonstrates, however, that even when a woman flirts, wears skimpy clothing and has too much to drink/does drugs, nothing should ever take away her right to say "no" to sex.
One reviewer thinks this film is about male-bashing. The scene she refers to, where she tells a potential witness that he's "worse than the others" takes place right after he informed his lawyer that he really "didn't remember" what happened in the bar and that the lawyers pressured him into testifying. Since he was the only witness who was able to help her, it should come as no shock that she was upset and hurt that he chose to back out of testifying and stick up for his rapist friend rather than her, the rape victim. In the end, though, he went with his conscience and told the truth, that he did watch her get raped and he knew who had cheered it on--and at that point, Jodie's character was most grateful towards him. A "heroine" needn't be a perfect angel. To believe that this movie involves male-bashine is to not have been paying attention and to make knee-jerk assumptions.

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Compelling yet Harrowing
Jodie Foster won an Oscar for her portrayal of Sarah, a young woman from the wrong side of the tracks, who is gang raped in a bar after a drunken night out. Foster delivers a mesmerising performance as the traumatised victim fighting for justice against a system that has labelled her as 'worthless' due to her previous lifestyle. Kelly McGillis plays the district attorney who initially lets Sarah down and agrees to a plea bargain that Sarah doesn't want. When the realisation hits of what she has done, she fights to ensure the perpetrators of this brutal rape are brought to justice.
This is never an easy film to watch. The crime is too violent and the emotions too raw for that. The audience is left with a feeling of unease at the brutality of the crime and at the judicial system that is supposed to protect the innocent.It is however, a compelling film due to the outstanding performances of the lead actors and it cannot fail to touch and move the most hard hearted of viewer.