I could not sleep, and Channel 5 UK decided to screen this film last night... It is a film about a serial rapist that the police could not catch, so the mother of one of the victims decides to catch him herself. The issue is a serious one. I think that Warren Thurlow may actually be a real person, and the film certainly had the feel of a true story type drama. The rapes themselves, and the horror of the experience are not shown in any graphic detail, which although a sensitive handling of a very emotive issue, has the downside of failing to really involve the viewer in the story. In this respect, "The Accused" is the best film to date of the genre. I would have liked to have seen more emphasis placed on the police and their shortcomings in failing to apprehend the suspect. The story is told instead, around the perspective of the victim's family, and the lack of information they have about what the police are actually doing is translated quite well. I would like to have seen more on people's motives and the underlying psychology, from the rapist through the family and the victims, but this is a documentary of facts, not of the issues themselves. For that reason, I feel that it does not have enough of an impact to classify it as anything more than another film on late night TV. It should not be instantly forgettable, but it is.
