The Accused

The Accused (1988) is Jonathan Kaplan's hard-hitting legal drama, available to watch online on iFILM. Jodie Foster stars as Sarah Tobias, a working-class waitress gang-raped by three men in a roadside bar.

The court reduces it to reckless endangerment, hinting that Sarah dressed and flirted her way into it. Prosecutor Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) signs off on the plea bargain, then can't live with what she did. So she goes after a second target: the crowd of men who whooped and egged the attackers on and never lifted a finger. To win, Sarah has to take the stand and relive that night in front of strangers.

It was one of the first studio films to insist that silence is not consent and that bystanders own a share of the crime. The role landed Foster her first acting Oscar, and the verdict scene shows exactly why. Bleak, unsentimental and still bracing decades on, it suits viewers ready for an uncomfortable conversation. Stream The Accused (1988) online on iFILM.