The Accused [DVD]

"The Accused" is a film based on a true story that is folklore to residents of Eastern Massachusetts when a woman was beaten and gang raped at Big Dans bar in Fall River and not only did no one try to help her, but a crowd of men gathered and began to cheer the rapists on. The film open with Jodie Foster, playing a young twenty-something named Sarah, bursts screaming out the door of the Bar into a dark parking lot on an industrial street. She is shoelss, blouse torn. SAarah is screaming; tears and shock. Her eyes darting back and forth as if she doesn't trust the air that surrounds her. Where will the next attack come from? She was running just to run; there was no concious destination. We see a young man in a truck, just as shocked but more calm.(He is key later on) Then we see her in a pay phone booth. (they still existed in the mid 1980's.) and it;s clear that through her tears she is calling for help. Then we watch her undergo a humiliating medical exam at a hospital. The camera is on her eyes and her eyes tell us exactly what is happening to her. The doctor and nurses are gentle but business like and give her intrsuctions. She is clearly in shock. Foster acts with her eyes and the things she does in this scene are enough to win the Oscar, though there's so muhc more to come. Finally a rape crisis councellor arrives. She is allowed to shower, the first of many and given clothes. After fifteen miunutes into the film we hear Foster deliver her first lines. Her voice is hoarse and the bruises on her neck indicate why. The councellor is asking her questions. Foster is chain smoking, her hand shakes each time she lifts the cigarette to her lips. It is clear that she is an uneducated blue collar citizen. She behaves with bravery. Then we are at home with her. The trailer is hers. Her boyfriend is there, smoking pot and drinking beer. She takes a few hits as well and we can feel the palpable tension because he doesn't know how to react and she feels as if he is disgusted by her. He almost as much says, "Get over it" before she throws him out. And the film is under way. The preppy college boys who actually rapoed her atop a pinball machine plea down to a lesser charge and Foster's public defender (Expertly played by Kelly McGinnes) accepts this plea without running it by Foster. Foster arrives at this womans home in the middle of a dinner party and tears her to pieces about how she sold her out; how she allowed those "animals" to beat and molest her "while my crotch was exposed to all of those people!" and the choked tears are controlled. We see that she is a strong and intelligent woman, albeit uneducated.She knows what is right and she feels that the D.A. has let the ball drop on this one. The boys will be out of jail with very little interruption ot their education. Let alone their lives. Sarah will never be the same again. To repent, McGillis decides to charge all of the spectators with accomplice to rape. And now we have a ballgame. I didn't see "The Accused" until after the shock of hearing that the child star, Jodie Foster had won Best Acttress over the skilled supurb performance by Streep in "Silkwood". But by the end of seeing this film I saw that Foster was a treasure. The film works with flashbacks of course- how better to do a court room drama- so we have the entire two hours to see her strength, to develop her character and earn our repsect.Sarah is a remarkable woman. Her strength isn;t easy; she just needss to be strong bcause right is right. We are rooting for this tiny, frail David against a Corporate Goliath that would set a precedent (and indeed did- anyone watching the news had that information going in.) Foster plays trailer trash with dignity, as Sean Penn gave Sam dignity for the educationally challenged. Like the famous scene in "Sophies Choice" which will go down in history as the best performahnce by anyone, Jodie Foster delivers a remarkable performance at the climax of the film and we are forced to watch, experience and FEEL what this poor young woman endured. Not just the physical trauma of rape and the humiliation that goes with it- the passing back and forth- but the chants of the drunken men circled around the room makes the circumstances of hell even more shocking. Watching this scene is traumatic; we can uin derstand that liv ing it must have been horrific. Foster's testimony is strong and even her tears fall down cheeks that are stern; her shoulders are square. That ten minute sequence is in a class with the train station scene in "Sophies' Choice". It will change you; make you grow and be a better person. The film moves us deeply but it also teaches us and makes us better people.This is one of the best films made in the 1980's. It appeared quietly without fanfare and after Foster won the Oscar if slipped into a catagory that makles it historic. Foster has spent her entire career facing controvery in her films and even the way she worked. This is Fosters most moving percormance which says a great deal considering her role in "Silence of The Lambs", "The Brave One" and "Nell." This is a woman who could take a screenplay with a male action hero and play the lead. she is effective. She is slectric. She is amazing. The gift she's given the world is unmeasureable and this film is one that you must see. As far as the pain we must enduire at times through the film, Foster provides us with a poyaoff at the end that shows us how to heal ourselves.

This is a very good movie. I loved it.

Excellent old movie!

The Accused is a powerful movie to educate the ignorant world about the law. The movie focuses on the fact that it is not only a crime to commit a rape, but it also a crime to induce, persuade, and convince a person to continue or and commit a rape. The second thing that this true story focused on was, no matter how you dress, how you act, how many lovers you've had, how you talk, or where you live, you deserve a fair trial, fair treatment, and justice like anyone else. The most brilliant thing about this film is they showed the actual rape scene. Once you see it, you have a whole new perspective on things. You sympathize for the victim even more. You also realize that she didnt ask for it what so ever. This really took place in a small town back east, but some details were changed as with all based on a true story films. The woman was actually gang raped on a pool table, not a ping ball machine. Thing movie was not a male basher. I.E. kennenth joyce, the good guy who reported the rape. He witnessed the rape, knew they were raping her, and felt sympathy for Sarah Tobias. It was just a trashy bar full of desperate guys who behaved badly and were criminals. Smiling, lifting eyebrows, and dancing, does not mean a woman is asking to get raped. She was the victim and was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Another senstitive subject for me is these big shot defense attorneys who tear a person's character apart. They dig up past mistakes that a person made and try to make a jury think that the victim deserved it, or asked for it. Being premiscuos in the past has nothing to do with the NO MEANS NO LAW. It's your body, you can say no. Foster is a brilliant and talented actress who does not agree to roles that are meaningless. She takes her acting career seriously which is why she diagreed to Hannibal. She would not play a role in a film with no imagination or meaningful insight, i.e. pure violence. Hannibal turned out to be a horrible film anyways. Fosster knows what she is doing! Her roles are strong women, who have a lasting influence on the viewers. I.E silence of the lambs. The Accused is no exception. It's a movie I saw when I was a teeneager and never have forgotton what it stood for. During a famous rape case recently, a cab driver told me "the victim had numerous lovers, she was a bad girl." I wanted to tell him to rent the accused because bottom line, if a person is raped, it's a crime and the victim deserves as much sympathy as anyone else. Justice does not discriminate. It isnt suppose to. Only the defense attoryneys try to turn everything upside down. I was so angry when the lawyers kept saying "these men had sex with Sarah Tobias and no one knew it was a rape." Then when you see the actual rape. "Hold her down? Cover her mouth" Take turns" Um does that sound like consented sex to you? I don't think so!! They knew exactly what they were doing. Even the spectators knew. Once you've seen this movie, you'll never forget it. It's no wonder Foster won an Oscar for this movie.

Muy bien hecha, super recomendable, está edición no cuenta con subtítulos

傑作ですね。ジョディーが綺麗。 この映画で米アカデミー賞主演女優賞獲得。もう一つは羊たちの沈黙で主演女優賞。 ジョディーは綺麗ですな。レイプされちゃった後、病院で写真を撮られて、そのシーンか特に綺麗。

una película dura pero es una gran pelicula.

本当にレイプだ。かを問う作品。

Great Movie