Back to trending
The Accused

The Accused

Crime · Drama · 1988

Out drinking one night after a fight with her boyfriend, three men brutally rape Sarah Tobias in a bar while people watch and cheer. District Attorney Kathryn Murphy takes the case; however, she allows the rapists to receive a mild sentence. A distraught Sarah decides to seek punishment for the men who witnessed and encouraged the rape. To get justice, Sarah must take the stand and revisit the night of her attack.

Movie details

The Accused

“The first scream was for help. The second is for justice.”

1988 Crime · Drama 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

Out drinking one night after a fight with her boyfriend, three men brutally rape Sarah Tobias in a bar while people watch and cheer. District Attorney Kathryn Murphy takes the case; however, she allows the rapists to receive a mild sentence. A distraught Sarah decides to seek punishment for the men who witnessed and encouraged the rape. To get justice, Sarah must take the stand and revisit the night of her attack.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Accused?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Boys of St. Vincent

The Boys of St. Vincent

Drama · 1994

The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.

Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don't Cry

Crime · 1999

A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.

Cleveland Abduction

Cleveland Abduction

Crime · 2015

A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.

South Central

South Central

Crime · 1992

During a 10-year sentence for murdering the leader of a rival South Central Los Angeles gang, Bobby Johnson finds religion and rehabilitation with the help of Muslim inmate Ali. Upon his release, Bobby returns home to find that his young son, Jimmie, has joined the Deuces, his old crew. Tensions rise as Bobby struggles to convince Jimmie to leave the gang that was his only family during the painful years his absent father spent behind bars.

Bully

Bully

Crime · 2001

A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.

Snowtown

Snowtown

Crime · 2011

Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

Ill Manors

Ill Manors

Crime · 2012

Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.

Casualties of War

Casualties of War

Drama · 1989

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

Mysterious Skin

Mysterious Skin

Drama · 2005

A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.

Stuart: A Life Backwards

Stuart: A Life Backwards

Drama · 2007

Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jonathan Kaplan

Written by

Tom Topor

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster

Sarah Tobias

Kelly McGillis

Kelly McGillis

Kathryn Murphy

Bernie Coulson

Bernie Coulson

Ken Joyce

Leo Rossi

Leo Rossi

Cliff 'Scorpion' Albrect

Ann Hearn

Ann Hearn

Sally Fraser

Carmen Argenziano

Carmen Argenziano

D.A. Paul Rudolph

Steve Antin

Steve Antin

Bob Joiner

Court is in session

Put The Accused on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.