The Accused

Dolores, post-adolescent daughter of upper middle class Buenos Aires parents, is on trial as the main suspect in the murder of her best friend. The point of this film is not to elucidate the crime, but rather to show that truly competent lawyers (generally, only accessible to the rich) can confuse the issues in a criminal trial, using all means at their disposal including the news media. The resulting uncertainty makes a reasonable verdict unlikely. The subject brings to mind real life examples such as O. J. Simpson's trial.

The movie can be described a courtroom drama. It may be especially interesting to Americans, since Argentine law does not generally grant trial by jury; lawyers argue and depose witnesses in front of a panel of judges who are in charge of the final verdict. Trials by jury were mandated in Argentina by the Constitution of 1853, but never implemented until the early 21st century and are still are vastly outnumbered by trials by judges.

Lali Espósito plays Dolores perfectly, without eliciting the sympathy of the viewer. There are glimpses of her personality, most of them disturbing. Leonardo Sbaraglia does an excellent job as her father and Daniel Fanego plays Dolores' lawyer chillingly. Gael García Bernal makes the most of a small part with his usual charisma and earnestness. Script and direction are smooth and seamless. A movie to watch.

If you look at the trailer on youtube, then, you've seen all the movie. The movie does not go deeper than the 2 minutes trailer, all the rest is just filler, slow, boring scenes that do lead to nowhere. Believe me, just watch the trailer, there's nothing else to this movie. Besides, the 'big screen names' on the movie don't get more than just a few minutes of screen time. Disappointing.

The two comments I have just read here say the same: the movie has not an end. but it si not true. In the last minutes of the movie you can understand the whole plot. You must pay attention, all you need to know is shown there. Perhaps the problem may be in the translation, perhaps the reason may be not to consider the alternative issues around the plot. Interesting movie, indeed.

For nearly two hours, we witness a sordid story and ... nothing ... There is not much going on. Is it voluntary? Taken in the judicial apparatus, one becomes a passive pawn lost in a Kafkaesque universe? Anyway, despite some undeniable qualities, the script is boring and I left the movie theater both disappointed and frustrated.

Maybe I didn't understand the metaphor or message of the movie. What was a good, if not special, movie about a crime that our protagonist was accused of committing, ends up too "in the air". Regardless of that, the movie is a bit too generic anyways.

Lali Espósito does an excellent job at using her innocent seeming persona to make us doubt at all times if she has done anything bad despite a lot of evidence against her. Sbaraglia is just a great talent and kills most roles, so of course was going to be great at a simple one like this one, the father of the accused.

The movie looks good, the acting is good and it looks good, but it's also a bit forgettable despite the mysterious ending.