Honestly, if you go back and watch The Accused now, it feels like a punch to the gut. It’s not just the 1980s hair or the grainy film stock. It’s the raw, unfiltered way Jodie Foster plays Sarah Tobias. You’ve probably seen the headlines about her winning an Oscar for it, but the story behind the movie—and what happened to the woman who inspired it—is way more intense than a red carpet moment.
Most people think of The Silence of the Lambs when they think of Foster. But The Accused was the real turning point. It was the moment she stopped being "the kid from Taxi Driver" and became a powerhouse. Basically, she played a woman who wasn't "perfect." Sarah Tobias drank, she flirted, she used foul language, and she wore short skirts. Back in 1988, Hollywood didn't know what to do with a victim who wasn't a "pure" damsel in distress.
The Real Story: Big Dan’s Tavern and Cheryl Araujo
The movie is "loosely based" on a horrifying real-life event. In 1983, a woman named Cheryl Araujo walked into Big Dan’s Tavern in New Bedford, Massachusetts, just to buy a pack of cigarettes. She ended up being gang-raped on a pool table for two hours while a crowd of men cheered.
Yeah. They cheered.
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When the case went to trial, it was a circus. It was actually one of the first trials ever televised nationally. People in the community didn't rally around Cheryl; they rallied around the men. They claimed the trial was "anti-Portuguese" because the defendants were from that community. Cheryl was harassed so badly she had to flee to Florida.
She died in a car accident in 1986, two years before the movie even came out. She never got to see Jodie Foster tell a version of her story that finally forced the world to look at the "onlookers" as criminals, too.
Why Jodie Foster Almost Didn't Get the Part
It's kinda crazy to think about, but Foster wasn't the first choice. She had to fight for Sarah Tobias. The producers were looking at "bigger" stars at the time, but Foster saw something in Sarah. She saw a woman whose "guts showed on her face," as film scholar B. Ruby Rich once put it.
During filming in Vancouver, things got heavy. Foster has mentioned in interviews that she felt a weird sense of responsibility for the actors playing her attackers. She was only 25. She spent her nights in bars after filming because she was literally scared to go back to her hotel room alone. Imagine carrying that much trauma home every night.
The famous rape scene—the one on the pinball machine—took two days to film. It is brutal. It’s meant to be. The director, Jonathan Kaplan, didn't want to make it "cinematic" or "sexy." He wanted it to be unbearable.
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The Impact on the Legal System
What really makes The Accused stand out is the second half of the movie. It’s not just about the rape; it’s about the people who watched and did nothing. Kelly McGillis plays the prosecutor, Kathryn Murphy, who decides to go after the bystanders for "criminal solicitation."
In the real Big Dan's case, the onlookers weren't actually charged with that specific crime in the same way, but the public outcry led to massive changes. Massachusetts eventually changed its laws regarding bystander intervention. The movie forced a conversation about "victim blaming" decades before the #MeToo movement had a hashtag.
Breaking Down the "Unsympathetic" Victim
If you look at the script, Sarah Tobias is written to be "difficult." She yells at her lawyer. She’s messy. But that’s the whole point. The movie argues that your character, your clothes, or your "lifestyle" don't give anyone the right to hurt you.
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- The Myth: If you're "good," you're safe.
- The Reality: Violence doesn't care about your GPA or your outfit.
- The Lesson: Justice shouldn't be reserved for the "perfect" victim.
Jodie Foster’s performance is a masterclass in holding onto your dignity when everyone is trying to strip it away. When she stands up in court and says, "I'm the one," it’s not just a line. It’s a reclamation of her own life.
Why We Still Talk About It in 2026
We're still dealing with the same stuff. Go on social media today and look at the comments on any high-profile assault case. You’ll see the same "What was she wearing?" and "Why was she there?" nonsense that Sarah Tobias dealt with in 1988.
The Accused didn't just win Jodie Foster an Oscar; it gave us a vocabulary for talking about consent and complicity. It’s a hard watch, sure. But it’s a necessary one.
How to Revisit the Legacy of The Accused
If this story sticks with you, there are a few things you can do to dig deeper into the history and the impact:
- Watch "Trial by Media" on Netflix: There is an episode specifically about the Big Dan's Tavern case and how the cameras in the courtroom changed Cheryl Araujo's life (and not for the better).
- Read "The Accuser" by Karen Curtis: This book dives into the real-life details of the New Bedford case that the movie left out, including the specific cultural tensions of the time.
- Check out the 1989 Oscar Speech: Watch Jodie's acceptance speech. She talks about how "cruelty might be very human... but it's not acceptable." It’s one of the most grounded speeches in Academy history.
- Support Victim Advocacy: Organizations like RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) continue the work that movies like The Accused started by providing resources for survivors who face the same "victim-blaming" Sarah Tobias did.
The movie ends with a conviction, but in real life, the story of Cheryl Araujo is a tragedy. By remembering the "accused" and the woman behind the role, we keep the conversation about justice alive.