X
- 1991
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
- 1991
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
Summary A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.
Directed By: Joseph Ruben
Written By: Nancy Price, Ron Bass
- 1991
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
- 1991
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
Sleeping with the Enemy
48
7.1
Where to Watch
Summary A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.
Directed By: Joseph Ruben
Written By: Nancy Price, Ron Bass
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
48
18% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
64% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
18% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
48
18% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
64% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
18% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
It's an efficiently crafted psychological thriller that keeps you guessing - even when you're sure that you have all the answers. [08 Feb 1991, p.6]
Audiences get what they pay for: suspense, chills and a bloody resolution as Sleeping with the Enemy charts its predictable course with Martin tracking Laura to small-town Iowa where she's being courted by a patient, polite, fuzzy-bearded drama teacher named Ben. But the picture doesn't delve deeply enough into the problem of spouse abuse. [08 Feb 1991, p.7]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
7.1
50% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
43% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
7.1
50% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
43% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Sleeping with the Enemy is a thriller made in 1991 by director, Joseph Ruben and stars Julia Roberts, Patrick Begin and Kevin Anderson.... The formula is pretty simple, wife fakes her own death and leaves her abusive husband and changes her identity, name and starts a new life in a small town or community somewhere and meets a drama teacher or something and starts a relationship with him kinda meanwhile whilst enjoying her new life her other husband she's escaped is looking for her... Sleeping with the Enemy maybe not the best Julia Roberts film but it's certainly my favourite film of hers . Julia Roberts has made some good films from Pretty Woman, Flatliners to Erin Brockovich but this film is my favourite. Patrick Bergin gives a great performance as the husband and there are a few dumb parts in Sleeping with the Enemy such as Patrick Bergin finding the wedding ring in the toilet and not noticing it earlier in the movie but I guess nobody is perfect. The ending of the movie could of been better but all in all a great movie. Some bad language and sex scenes and the content of the film in general makes this one for adults only.
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For the start of 2018 I would like to show you list of one of a cycle of thrillers made during the early 1990s which were set around husband and wife characters which I've already reviewed. Deceived which is forgettable, Consenting Adults which I didn't like, Presumed Innocent and Sleeping with the Enemy is the film which I'm going to do. Of course, there are some thrillers that I haven't seen and yes, I have seen some of them which I've already reviewed. Sometimes they're been done to death like the stories the filmmakers had put out is the same story they put out so many times. OK, so Sleeping with the Enemy is the story about Laura Burney escapes his abusive husband and start a new life over. And that's it, that is for the fact that I'm not spoiling the film for people who haven't seen it which is what thrillers for. Some of the scenes are chilling and will keep you on the edge of the seat. I actually love the scene where Laura's new boyfriend who is her next door neighbor singing the jet song and the two couple dancing to "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. I can also remember watching the music video of it on TV with Julia Roberts in it. For thrillers that are recycled goes, this one is underrated. I guess you guys will be entertained by thrillers that will keep you on the edge of the seat that is if you watch them alone. I know I did.
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Sleeping With the Enemy is a flat tire of a movie. Looks good -- white sidewalls, crome spokes -- but it flaps and clunks and never gets to vroom. [18 Feb 1991, p.64B]
Director Joseph Ruben would have done much better to limit the physical horror and make it more of a psychological terror game.
The script itself—credited to Ronald Bass, and adapted from Nancy Price's novel—is a tissue of so many stupid and implausible contrivances that the only possible way of enjoying it is by taking your brain out to lunch.
On paper, this sounded like a winner. In reality? We have met the Enemy at the multiplex, and he's silly. [08 Feb 1991, p.4D]
This movie has some entertaining cinematography and an unsettling score. It’s a shame that Ruben only has misguided screenplays to work with.
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Almost forgotten, but essential in Julia Roberts's career.
This movie is all about a case of domestic, physical and psychological violence, where the wife of a controlling and violent husband decides to fake his own death in order to escape and start living again. Of course, things get complicated later, when the husband discovers that he was deceived and starts looking for the runaway wife. A classic thriller where she can run but can't hide, which marked (along with "Pretty Woman") Julia Roberts' rise as an actress.
This is, to a large extent, a movie that has aged quite badly, I think. Looking at him today, it is hard not to see him as a rather weak movie, where only the quality of the actress who gives life to the main character stands out. Continuously betting on the emotional response of the audience, the script is tiring and the story told has a series of problems of logic and likelihood. For starters, why did you prefer the character to fake her own death rather than go to the police, tell everything, risk it, and file for divorce? It was, to a large extent, the first thing to do. And that trick with the broken street lamp? If there wasn't such bad weather on this boat trip, how was she going to pretend she drowned convincingly? There's a lot of luck on her escape. And there's a lack of tension and suspense throughout most of the movie, except for the hospital scene, where things get really hot and we're glued to the screen. Even the ending of the movie was too warm and that was disappointing.
Nonetheless, the story is solid enough to withstand the movie and get us to see it all the way through. The construction of the two central characters, played by Julia Roberts (in a performance that showed that she was a safe bet for the industry and a promise of talent), and Patrick Bergin, who can turn his character into something worthy of the game. our hatred, although sometimes quite cartoonish. The worst was really Kevin Anderson, in such a nice stupid character.
In short, this is a highly dated movie that has aged very badly, almost falling into oblivion. The one thing that made this movie not completely forgotten was Roberts' performance, which manages to show a promise of talent and make the movie worthwhile in the least.
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Les femmes battues, un sujet grave qui ne méritait pas un traitement aussi ridicule, et ce du début à la fin. Et puis quoi, Julia s’est juste pris une beigne dans tout le film. Et un ou deux coups de pied peut-être, on ne va pas en faire un fromage. Pas réaliste du tout : moi, quand je bats ma femme, c’est trois fois par jour, matin, midi et soir, et double ration quand y a plus de bières !!Quant à la fin, cette fin est à se taper le cul par terre : le méchant mari a ce qu’il mérite. Grotesque, complètement guignolesque, je sais que c’est un film américain mais tout de même ! sponsorisé par le Parti Républicain et la NRA ?
En plus, bien qu’on ne s’ennuie pas, le film reste d’une lourdeur et d’une naïveté incroyables puisqu’elle tombe aussi sec sur le prince charmant ! voyez-vous ça ! et la marmotte, elle emballe le chocolat dans le papier alu ? Quoi ? ah bon ? je ne le savais pas.
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Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 4 Nominations
BMI Film & TV Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Yoga Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
