Jodie Foster as Sarah Tobias in The Accused

Best Actress at the 61st Annual Oscars (1988)

Notable Quote:

“If that’s the best you can do, then your best sucks.”

Synopsis:

Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) is gang-raped in a bar, and when her rapists get off easy on a plea deal, she takes the men who watched and egged on the rape to trial. The Oscars always provide us with such cheery films, don’t they?

The character:

Sarah Tobias is more of a feel-good feminist blank than a character, persay. She gets raped and turns into a full-on crusader for justice, and we get to cheer her on constantly. She tosses her no good boyfriend out of the trailer they share, she’s completely unconcerned about any repercussions of pursuing all these well-liked local men, and she doesn’t experience much trauma after such a violent experience. She doesn’t really have any discernable personality traits outside of being a rape victim, except that she’s very, veeery into doing star charts (which, to be fair, I love, she insists on talking about astrology to the utter disdain of the DA until finally they’ve bonded at the end and the DA lets her write and sign her star chart, aww).

However, comma, with that being said, it is genuinely satisfying to watch her. Sarah has so many great scenes where she tells people off: bursting into the DA’s house with her hair in a rat’s nest updo to bawl her out for letting the rapists plea an easy sentence, shouting, “Are you deaf, asshole? No comment!” at the reporters on the way into the courtroom, and maybe best of all, straight up RAMMING HER CAR into one of the onlooker’s trucks when he taunts her later. And she’s also incredibly sympathetic, powerfully sharing her story in the courtroom.

Okay, I feel bad about this, but it must be said. Sarah does the classic “cut off all my hair” thing that women do in movies when they’re getting tough. The problem is that her hair then looks insane, and is legitimately distracting throughout the rest of the movie. There’s one scene where she has a leather jacket on, and looks like a cool 80s punk, but the rest of the time, it’s much more “hedgehog in business casual”.

The performance:

Oh man, where do I begin with Jodie Foster? First, a disclaimer, which is that I do love her. Here’s the thing: every time I watch a movie she’s in, I can’t decide whether she’s a good actress or not? I feel like she’ll give an incredible scene, and then follow it up with one where I’m like, “oh wow, she’s … doing a lot.” It gives me whiplash! I’m constantly questioning my own reality, like, is this woman actually not that great? Her worst feature in The Accused is definitely her accent (maybe it’s supposed to be Boston? Maine? Omg, I just looked it up and this movie is set in Washington state, wth?!?). Aside from its indeterminate origins, the accent comes and goes at will – at one point, it had been gone so long that I assumed I imagined it, and then all of a sudden, there it was again!

But Foster is really great when she’s in the courtroom giving her testimony: I found myself outraged on her behalf. She’s also great at acting with just her expressions. There’s a scene where she’s waiting outside the DA’s office while her friend makes a statement, and she’s just sitting there squirming but conveys so much. Although even now, I’m questioning myself, like, was that good acting, or terrible? Ugh, why is this woman such an amazing conundrum <3

Which leads me to my next point, which is that I just love Jodie Foster’s presence. She’s a physically small woman, and she’s often very quiet (even though she yells a lot in this movie), but that quiet core of energy is somehow incredibly engaging. She’s someone that I want to see more of. And make no doubt about it, her performance absolutely makes this movie (sorry Kelly McGillis, you seem nice and all).

The movie:

Let’s not get it twisted: this movie is cheesy as hell. It’s almost a Lifetime movie with a little bit of a bigger budget. There are constantly these swelling 80s strings in the background when we’re supposed to feel an emotion. It’s the sort of movie where someone has a confrontation in an office and then yells, “What are you looking at!? Get back to work!”

But, this movie is ultimately really feminist and progressive. It’s always clear that Sarah is the victim, both of the men who participated in the gang-rape, and of the patriarchal culture that wants to make her out to be the bad guy. The rape scene is horrifying and in some ways gratuitous, but it doesn’t feel exploitative: it’s purposely uncomfortable to watch. And the idea that even men who don’t literally commit rape still contribute is a really powerful one even today.

Was the Oscar deserved?

Despite my complaints, yes. If this movie is anything, it’s because of Jodie Foster.