The Accused (1988 film)

The Accused
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jonathan Kaplan
Produced by	Stanley R. Jaffe Sherry Lansing
Written by	Tom Topor
Starring	Kelly McGillis Jodie Foster
Music by	Brad Fiedel
Cinematography	Ralf D. Bode
Edited by	O. Nicholas Brown Gerard B. Greenberg
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	October 14, 1988 (1988-10-14)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	Canada United States
Language	English
Budget	$6 million
Box office	$32,078,318 (USA)

The Accused is a 1988 American drama film written by Tom Topor and directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It starred Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis. The film is set in Washington state and filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

The film was loosely based on the 1983 gang rape of Cheryl Araujo in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and the resulting trial, which received national coverage. This film was one of the first Hollywood films to portray rape graphically.

The film was well received. Jodie Foster portrayed Sarah Tobias, the victim, earning the Academy Award for Best Actress, the film's sole nomination. This was the first time that the lead actress won the Best Actress Academy Award without the film being nominated in any other category since 1962, when Sophia Loren won Best Actress for her performance in Two Women.

One night at a bar, working-class woman Sarah Tobias (Foster) is gang raped by several drunk bar patrons, while onlookers cheer them on. Assistant district attorney, Kathryn Murphy (McGillis) is assigned to the rape case. Her superior wants to drop the case, believing that Sarah's background and prior record will make her testimony appear weak to the jury and that she will not win the case. After a heated argument, her superior suggests she arrange a plea bargain with the rape defendants that requires some jail time. They make a plea bargain to charges of reckless endangerment, and are sentenced to prison. Sarah is enraged by the deal, as she did not get to testify in court against her attackers.