65
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Foster is simply fantastic as the tough Sarah, unshakeable in her belief that justice has not been done and that she has a right to demand it. McGillis, from a slow start, builds beautifully and by the time the action has switched to the courtroom, she has shed her starchy persona for a true advocate's passion.
- 100The Globe and Mail (Toronto)The Globe and Mail (Toronto)An experience that is sometimes unbearable and always riveting. [14 Oct 1988]
- 90The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyA consistently engrossing melodrama, modest in its aims and as effective for the cliches it avoids as for the clear eye through which it sees its working-class American lives.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFor some men, the movie will reveal a truth that most women already know. It is that verbal sexual harassment, whether crudely in a saloon back room or subtly in an everyday situation, is a form of violence - one that leaves no visible marks but can make its victims feel unable to move freely and casually in society. It is a form of imprisonment.
- 70Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyKatheryn's summation was meant to be the final flourish, but McGillis gives a flat-footed performance. However, Foster overcomes McGillis' inertia, as the sweet-natured Sarah, a lonely little waitress who makes her home in a trailer park. Under her tight jeans and tough talk, she proves as fragile as a ballerina on a music box. Foster creates the ultimate victim without ever becoming a wimp, mixing dignity with defenselessness. The Accused must be acquitted of its misdemeanors if not for its good intentions, for this vibrant performance.
- 63Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrThe Accused is far from a perfect film, but it's got a terrific performance by Foster, a pretty good one by McGillis, and Lansing's knack for casting women's issues in a form that makes people go see them at the movies. [14 Oct 1988, p.49]
- 63Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordThe great film that The Accused could have been is in there. So is Foster's lovely, measured work, the work of an actress at the top of her art, and this in a supposed "comeback." Yes, darker and more sadistic passages have burdened many lesser movies. But this one has ambition, and this one has this performance. It's a hard movie to like; it's an impossible one to ignore. [14 Oct 1988, p.E1]
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineOnly a riveting performance by Jodie Foster lifts THE ACCUSED above the level of a television movie.
- 50Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrFoster and McGillis never quite make the transition from ideological mouthpieces to fully developed dramatic figures. [14 Oct 1988, p.C]
- 40Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonLos Angeles TimesSheila BensonA preachy, empty story, enlivened by a great central performance and generous dollops of self-delusion, not the least offensive of which are Topor's and Lansing's quoted comparisons of their movie to the moral climate of the Holocaust. To paraphrase dear Joseph Welch, have they no shame? [14 Oct 1988, p.4]