The Accused (1988)
(Jonathan Kalpan, US 1988, 111 min., 35mm)
In a powerful examination of society’s complicity to violence against women, Jodie Foster plays Sarah Tobias, a woman publicly raped by three men in a Washington honky-tonk. Fleeing the scene, she finally receives assistance from Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) as she identifies her attackers to bring to trial. Based solely on Sarah’s history and behavior, Kathryn feels that she wouldn’t be a convincing presence on the stand, making it difficult to bring the case to trial. In the meantime, Sarah convinces Kathryn to prosecute the men who stood by, doing nothing. Foster’s second Academy Award nomination, and her first win, came for this devastating performance.