Parents' Guide to The Accused

Movie R 1988 111 minutes
The Accused movie poster

Common Sense Media Review

Kat Halstead By Kat Halstead , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 17+

Legal drama has scenes of sexual violence, strong language.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 17+?

Any Positive Content?

  • The Accused Trailer
  • The Accused: Kelly McGillis and Jodie Foster sit in a wood-panelled room looking at a legal paper.
  • The Accused: Close-up of Jodie Foster's face, eyes wide, with a curtained window in the background.
  • The Accused: Kelly McGillis sits holding a pen in an office, a window with vertical blinds behind her.

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

In THE ACCUSED, after experiencing a violent gang rape in a bar, Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice. She is helped by lawyer Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis), who becomes equally committed to holding the men to account.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Based on a real-life trial, this film from 1988 makes an impact not just in the brutality of the crime, but the way in which the victim is treated in the aftermath. In The Accused, Sarah is handled with clinical coldness and suspicion, while behind the scenes, lawyers make decisions based more on tidy outcomes and sure wins than a true concern for justice.

Foster took home an Academy Award for her intense and intimate performance. Sarah is a woman who at first seems powerless, but who then finds strength in her outrage, moving McGillis' practical lawyer into action from the heart instead of the rule book. It's a compelling film with important things to say, particularly back in the '80s when this kind of subject was not often tackled on-screen. That it is still so relevant decades on makes it all the more impactful.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the sexual violence The Accused. How did these scenes make you feel? Was it important that the film generated strong feelings from the viewer? Why, or why not?

  • Discuss the narrative structure and how the movie begins soon after the assault, and doesn't show the crime until near the end. What impact did that have on you?

  • What suspicions and presumptions were made toward Sarah's character in an attempt to invalidate her experience? Discuss how this is mirrored in the outside world. Can you think of similar examples from the media?

  • Talk about some of the language used. Did it seem necessary or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?

  • How was drinking, smoking, and drug use depicted in the movie? Were they glamorized? Did the characters need to do these things? What were the consequences?

Movie Details

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The Accused movie poster

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