Sleeping with the Enemy

I think most people tend to overlook how well-done the first 20 minutes of this movie really are. Ruben carefully builds a creepy atmosphere, relying on brief glances, moments of silence and quietly expressive performances (especially by Julia Roberts) to help the viewer understand that, behind the image of a perfect couple, something is really wrong. Unfortunately, after Roberts escapes from her husband, the movie turns into a strictly by-the-numbers thriller, where you can predict almost every development of the script. It's a visually polished movie, though, and the very good performances give it a strong psychological center that keeps it above-average.

What a great movie. One of Julia Robert's best performances.

The start of the movie seems fine Laura and Martin seem like a happily married couple, then you see a scene where Martin berates her about hanging the bathroom towels out of order and then, Laura desperately tries to arrange the tins in the cupboard exactly right. Everything is definitely not alright when you see Martin punch Laura in the head.

This is the story of how Laura fakes her own death and tries to make a new life for herself.

You really feel for Laura and Martin is a really evil guy, who is portrayed very scarily.

The music is beautiful and sad, one of the loveliest soundtracks I have ever heard.

I really recommend this film to other women, although it is not aimed entirely at the female audience, I feel we get more out of it

Unlike some, I LIKE this lady and this is my favourite film of hers. After watching it for the nth time I was moved to buy the book on which it is based and this is a far more complex affair than the film, which simplifies everything and leaves out several characters altogether. I think Nancy Price did a far better job of studying an abused wife, who never really stopped loving her brute of a husband, than the makers of the film. It depicts Sara/Laura as a far more interesting character than the somewhat insipid Julia Roberts version.

If you have read the book, then some little touches in the film (i.e. - African Violets) become clearer.

I have this movie on tape also. Come to think, I have a lot of Julia Roberts' movies. Anywho, I liked how she used her timidity to get the hell out of a crazy psyho relationship with a guy who thought he was entitled to beat his wife. She planned everything down to the T, and I liked that. However, you knew he was gonna find her again and wreak havoc on her new life. It grew a little wasteful at that point because the poor guy had only that abusive husband turned psycho side to play with. Not much to chew on really when you're in the movie about 5 times in 20 minutes. You understood she had to see him at least and the point was she had to move on and assert her independence. Sucks that psycho was rich with a nice pad. Plus, why didn't she just pawn the ring instead of attempting to flush hard gold down? Or take it with? Even a toilet isn't that stupid. Maybe she should have eaten it first and it would have been disguised better. I mean, that was the only thing that tipped him off for goodness sakes. She was smart to a point like most chicks in these types of movies. Guess there wouldn't be much of a movie otherwise.

Laura marries Martin Burney who appears to be the perfect man, he is handsome and successful, yet the dream of the perfect man becomes a nightmare as Martin is a control freak who abuses her both physically and mentally. Once she decides enough is enough she plots her escape by way of faking her own death by drowning, a new life beckons, but she will always be looking over her shoulder to see if Martin finds out the truth and tracks her down.

Thus the vehicle for Julia Roberts pans out as your just above average thriller. It has some decent moments that keep it from drifting into tedium, the set up perfectly portrays the double life that some people lead, on the social circuit it appears the couple are happy and at one with each other, yet behind their own walls there is violence and the crushing of the spirit. The final third of the film is also well worthy of the word thriller, for the tension is nigh on unbearable as we slowly come to the conclusion, whilst Julia Roberts as Laura does a very tidy job as this sort of modern day princess escaping the evil clutches of her keeper. Must mention the great use of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, it's eerie and impacts hard for the scenes it is used for.

Patrick Bergin plays his role well enough, it's just that his villainy is never fully realised, we see enough to know that what he does is wrong, yet it feels a bit too polished. Whilst a sequence that sees Laura dress up as a man is clearly the low point of the film, it really does stretch the viewers patience, and sadly insults their respective intelligence. It's a mixed bag that isn't quite a waste of time, it just doesn't leave you with anything other than a feeling of being semi fulfilled, shame as it could have been brilliant with a bit more bravery and brains in the script, 6/10.