The Accused (B or 3/4 stars)
'The Accused' (directed by Jonathan Kaplan) follows the struggles of a young woman to find justice after she is publicly gang-raped in a local bar. While the case seems relatively straightforward, there are some complicating issues involving her (and intent of the victim, herself) & also the accountability among those who witnessed the crime ... and did nothing to stop it. Waitress Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster, incredible) is a cigarette smoking, booze drinkin', sexy little spitfire who lovvves to party with her friends. The night of said rape, she has a fight with her boy friend & heads out to her local bar to blow off some little steam.
In the low-lit back room where the billiard tables sit & arcade games blare away, Sarah starts flirting, dancing, drinking, and before long, she's finding herself tossed upon a pinball machine being fiercely ravaged with young men lined-up to have their crack at her while other customers stand cheering. Beaten & traumatized, she ends up in the D.A.'s office facing stoic asst. attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis), who listens intently & decides to take the case. But as Kathryn learns about Sarah's checkered past of drugs, alcohol & casual sex acts, she becomes vexed that the defense can easily use this info to destroy her in court.
Rather than risk all that and, with a lack of evidence, Kathryn goes after a plea bargain to grant the guilty a "reckless endangerment" sentence; which frees them from having to admit that they committed "rape". Sarah becomes ENRAGED & feels betrayed when she hears about the plea bargain & barges into one of Kathryn's dinner parties at her home to deride her. Kathryn appears unsympathetic, but she then sees 1st-hand the humiliation & devastation that the rape has brought upon Sarah's life and, thusly, defies her bosses in continuing to fight for justice using a new 'approach'. Check-out the film to see this new fascinating approach.
Solid movie. Jonathan Kaplan's direction & Tom Torpor's screenplay for 'The Accused' sheds light on the heinous crime that was shrouded in myth & misunderstanding. Jodie Foster is superb as the self-defeating victim who absolutely insists on her day in court, even though her appearance, demeanor & sketchy background might very well work against her. Foster's anger is rabid & intense. But she also exhibits a fragility & inner-woundedness that people with a sorry life harbor deep down inside. We summon a smidge of empathy for her and; maybe that's enough. Kelly McGillis offers sturdy work as Kathryn, the crusading asst. district attorney who might not want to help this "victim", but knows that doing so called upon her demand of justice.
The direction is straightforward, but not negligible in the slightest. The cinematography is crisp. The acting from all is good-to-great. Having said that, if I have one complaint, it would be that while "experiencing" great acting on the screen and listening to some "well-written dialogue" come out of the actors' mouths, I never believed that the words were off-the-cuff genuine ... it felt like & sounded like SCRIPTED dialogue; well-acted scripted dialogue. So to that, there is an air of phoniness about the whole proceedings; even if it IS involving & a fascinating watch.
In the low-lit back room where the billiard tables sit & arcade games blare away, Sarah starts flirting, dancing, drinking, and before long, she's finding herself tossed upon a pinball machine being fiercely ravaged with young men lined-up to have their crack at her while other customers stand cheering. Beaten & traumatized, she ends up in the D.A.'s office facing stoic asst. attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis), who listens intently & decides to take the case. But as Kathryn learns about Sarah's checkered past of drugs, alcohol & casual sex acts, she becomes vexed that the defense can easily use this info to destroy her in court.
Rather than risk all that and, with a lack of evidence, Kathryn goes after a plea bargain to grant the guilty a "reckless endangerment" sentence; which frees them from having to admit that they committed "rape". Sarah becomes ENRAGED & feels betrayed when she hears about the plea bargain & barges into one of Kathryn's dinner parties at her home to deride her. Kathryn appears unsympathetic, but she then sees 1st-hand the humiliation & devastation that the rape has brought upon Sarah's life and, thusly, defies her bosses in continuing to fight for justice using a new 'approach'. Check-out the film to see this new fascinating approach.
Solid movie. Jonathan Kaplan's direction & Tom Torpor's screenplay for 'The Accused' sheds light on the heinous crime that was shrouded in myth & misunderstanding. Jodie Foster is superb as the self-defeating victim who absolutely insists on her day in court, even though her appearance, demeanor & sketchy background might very well work against her. Foster's anger is rabid & intense. But she also exhibits a fragility & inner-woundedness that people with a sorry life harbor deep down inside. We summon a smidge of empathy for her and; maybe that's enough. Kelly McGillis offers sturdy work as Kathryn, the crusading asst. district attorney who might not want to help this "victim", but knows that doing so called upon her demand of justice.
The direction is straightforward, but not negligible in the slightest. The cinematography is crisp. The acting from all is good-to-great. Having said that, if I have one complaint, it would be that while "experiencing" great acting on the screen and listening to some "well-written dialogue" come out of the actors' mouths, I never believed that the words were off-the-cuff genuine ... it felt like & sounded like SCRIPTED dialogue; well-acted scripted dialogue. So to that, there is an air of phoniness about the whole proceedings; even if it IS involving & a fascinating watch.