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The Accused

Play trailer Poster for The Accused R 1988 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
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.
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The Accused

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jan 1, 2000
3/4
The Accused demonstrates that rape victims often are suspects in their own cases. Go to Full Review Savina Petkova A Good Movie To Watch Oct 29, 2023
7.8/10
Foster packs a punch. She can go from zero to a hundred in a second, her quiet simmering turning to screams of rage in a heartbeat. Go to Full Review Kat Halstead Common Sense Media Oct 4, 2022
4/5
That it is still so relevant decades on makes it all the more impactful. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Aug 31, 2022
B
Well worth seeing for Foster, who even transcends the fake-looking spiky wig she wears in the second half. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Feb 20, 2022
3/4
The Accused stands out because it tackles a subject that other mainstream filmmakers refused to address at the time. Go to Full Review Martha K. Baker AWFJ.org Nov 23, 2021
This film about sexual assault, written by Tom Topor and directed by Jonathan Kaplan, is not just about a gang of rapists, the perpetrators, but also about the callow and craven men who cheered on the penetrators. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad 5 days ago The Accused = a *4* star Movie... See more keven Q @kevenquinlan Mar 2, 2026 Liked it more in the theatres but doesn't play very well in 2026. It's a good story, Foster's ok, nothing exceptional- about any of the performances. It kind of has parts of courtroom drama, incident account. I am not disappointed I watched it but wouldn't keep it for my collection. See more Stoner J @Stoner Mar 1, 2026 Great courtroom drama flick. Although every time Foster fakes an accent it’s terrible. She’s just not believable in most roles See more Stefano T @Giant_Lizard Oct 9, 2025 The movie itself isn't anything that memorable, but I think it's important because of the topic, especially in that time (1988) when this kind of crimes were still punished too lightly. See more Nicholas B @Nicholas657 May 25, 2025 Great Film with Jodie Foster. Very interesting storyline but the beginning of the film is graphic. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 Aug 18, 2024 Not a believable depiction of the crime. Did a disservice to an important issue. Nothing about the film or characters felt realistic. Even the courtroom drama made little sense at times and wasn’t dramatic. Watched on DVD. See more Read all reviews
The Accused

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Cast & Crew

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Jonathan Kaplan

Director

Kelly McGillis

Kathryn Murphy

Jodie Foster

Sarah Tobias

Bernie Coulson

Ken Joyce

Leo Rossi

Cliff 'Scorpion' Albrect

Ann Hearn

Sally Fraser

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The Accused

The Accused (1988) The Accused (1988) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis 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.
Director
Jonathan Kaplan
Producer
Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing
Screenwriter
Tom Topor
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 14, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$29.6M
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
Surround
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