A letto con il nemico

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.

Right off of the runaway success of Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts starred in Sleeping With the Enemy as a battered housewife who fakes her death to escape from her psychotic husband. She changes her name and starts a new life in a small town where everything seems to be better for her...until her husband discovers she's still alive.

Sleeping With the Enemy is fairly by the numbers as thrillers go. It's inoffensive and fairly predictable, but Roberts is incredibly likable in the leading role and director Joseph Rubin knows how to craft suspense which goes a long way in making the film work. Jerry Goldsmith's music score is lush and hauntingly beautiful.

Sleeping With the Enemy is the kind of movie you can relax on the couch with on a Saturday afternoon and it has a great rewatchable quality.

Sleeping with the Enemy is a 1991 American romantic psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin and Kevin Anderson. The film is based on Nancy Price's novel of the same name of 1987. Roberts plays a woman who escapes from her abusive husband, from Cape Cod to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she captures the attention of a kindly college drama teacher.

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.

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