The Accusation

Raising provocative questions of sexual consent and privilege, this intense and intricate French drama centers on a controversial rape case and the families whose lives are shattered. A divorced power couple (Charlotte Gainsbourg and Pierre Arditi)—she an influential feminist, he a TV journalist and libidinous old boomer—are the parents of the accused. When their model son Alex, a Stanford student back home in Paris, attends a party with a young Jewish woman, a murky encounter brings the police the next day. A media frenzy and gripping trial follow, in which opposing views of that fateful night are litigated. With rigorous craft and intellect, French-Israeli writer-director Yvan Attal tackles the gray areas of human behavior and truth.