The Accused
The Accused is a 1988 American legal drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and written by Tom Topor, loosely based on the 1983 gang rape of Cheryl Araujo in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It stars Jodie Foster as Sarah Tobias, a young waitress who is gang raped by three men at a local bar. With the help of District Attorney Katheryn Murphy (played by Kelly McGillis), she sets out to prosecute the rapists and the men who helped induce the assault.
Plot
On April 18, 1987, 24-year-old waitress Sarah Tobias is brutally gang-raped by three men at a local bar while several patrons watch and cheer. District Attorney Katheryn Murphy is assigned to the case. Although there is strong physical evidence corroborating Sarah's rape, Katheryn assumes that Sarah will not make a credible witness if the case goes to trial due to her checkered past and flirtatious behavior with the men before her attack. She agrees to a plea bargain, allowing the three rapists to plead guilty to the lesser offense of reckless endangerment, a felony without a sexual offense, and serve nine months in prison. Sarah is angered and feels betrayed by Katheryn's decision, as she wants the chance to tell her story.
Awards
More details
| author | Tom Topor |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Actress National Board of Review: Top Ten Films |
| contentLocation | Washington |
| director | Jonathan Kaplan |
| editor | Gerald B. Greenberg O. Nicholas Brown |
| genre | crime drama |
| keywords | attack betray college student district attorney endangerment parking lot rape victim reckless endangerment young man |
| musicBy | Brad Fiedel |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actress |
| producer | Sherry Lansing Stanley R. Jaffe |
| publisher | Paramount Pictures |
| recordedAt | Vancouver |
| theme | feminist legal drama rape |