Sleeping With The Enemy [1990] [DVD]

This has always been a favorite of mine, I just wish we didn’t have to pay for the older movies.

I have seen this movie many time's over the past 20-something years .. It never get's Old ,Boring or Stale. The lead's just seem to fit ... Let's be honest here. I think that every woman want's a MAN to fall hopelessly in love with her ... but NOT INFATUATED with ?? Because that sort of behavior can turn DEADLY . Julia Roberts in her youth was so pretty .. like a VIRGIN .. Unspoiled .. until about the late 1990's .. It was the curly hair ..lips.. and those EYES !! She is a remarkable actress ... now her personal life at time's was a bit off .. but that's her business .?? Patrick Bergin seemed like the perfect husband .. successful, well groomed and very generous. Except for the those pesky .. OCD .. quirk's as "Line this up/UP ... and the fact that he controlled every fabric of her being ? That's just plain nut's ..! Faking your death .. just to be FREE of a Man..? Well ladies .. "Be very careful what you wish for..? I love the small town vibe .... and the Ben neighbor . What a sweet heart .. to risk his safety to give her a little happiness . Her poor disabled mother, blind and not being able to help her ? .. I recall that actress from the Soapopera's back in the day. This movie ..is certainly a conversation piece for parent's and their daughter's. Ladies .. you don;t need to fall in love and marry ... right away. To avoid such pit fall's... Its best that you carve out a life for yourself .. College, A car/Savings/ and a career. Give yourself time .. Don't invest so much of your self with a partner .. Wait until your 35 or Older. Therefore your independent .. not so Dependent on predator's such as these !! There are two other movie's that were made like this .. "Julie" is a movie from the 1950's starring late actress Doris Day .. who's husband stalks and tries to kill her. The other is called "The Burning Bed" with the late Farrah Fawcett in the 1980's.. Wait on love ...and if our looking for a father influence ..? Then just volunteer at a Nursing home .. No one deserve's to be hunted like Julia Roberts character had been in this movie.

Love!!!

Sleeping With The EnemyCast:Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson, Elizabeth LawrenceDirector: Joseph RubenMusic Jerry GoldsmithThis movie deals with an extra horrific case of domestic violence. It first came as a shock because the evil doer is well mannered, seemingly polite, and wealthy. At first young beauty Laura(Roberts) appears to have a wealthy blissful life full of digging clams on the beach. But not so fast. She is often beaten black and blue by an ugly anger management case...her husband Martin. Martin doesn't just use harsh language. He explodes with rage shocking viewers by kicking and swinging at his wife. Fed up, Laura fakes her death and does a pretty well planned relocate to Iowa where she greets her mom and meets a guy and tries to start over.Whatever you say about this film you got to admit it overflowed with clams at the box office. First, it has a beautiful haunting score by Goldsmith. Next it has Roberts: beauty and talent. Her facial expressions tell the story. Martin looks at her, she smiles back. Martin turns away she sinks to near tears. It's hard not to feel for her. Roberts is an elete emotional communicator. Also you've got to give Bergin's acting some credit as a an effective mental case. His flat formal language and flying fist tantrums makes the viewer wonder what is next. He is one scary iceman. He tries for complete control of Laura, her dress, her cupboard, her bathroom towels. Laura is pretty well trapped by this beast. I think about the character Laura and find it very troubling that a woman being bullied can feel hopeless and unable to find help. Some have suggested Laura simply get a restraining order. I think a restraining order wouldn't even slow him down: not a man like that.Laura manages to escape by secretly teaching herself to swim and slipping over board during a sailboat ride with Martin and friend. The two men on board have poor sailing skills (grabbing the clue, leaving the helm, accidental jibes). This part of the film needed more sailing lessons. It may not mean much to some, but I seldom get to watch sailing on the screen and wish they would get it right. This is an important scene in the film and should be believable.Iowa, sweet Iowa. I enjoyed her peaceful recovery days in her new rental. WHAT A RELIEF! Ben (Anderson) IS just what she needs. Ben is like able and a welcome site. Anderson over does his gentle Ben part a bit. But it isn't too sticky. He speaks in whispers. He even uses four letter words in a whisper. But part of this soft spoken talk comes from his realization he is dealing with a traumatized woman beaten by a maniac. Like any good man he wants to help. This is a classy thriller that is certainly not dull or overdone. It is well done; actor and director.Give this one a watch for sure.....despite little imperfections, I think it's a really good story.

One of my favorites

This is one of those movies that you can casually watch every several years. My daughter and I were in the mood for it so I just bought the download. It will feel somewhat dated now, but that has to do with styles and the men's hair more than anything else, so if you get by that, it's fine.I don't think this is a huge stretch for Julia Roberts, as far as her acting abilities go, but she still does a good job. I liked one of the male co-stars, Kevin Anderson, who plays the "good guy" and am surprised I haven't seen him in more productions. Perhaps I've just missed him. I think the bad guy overdid it a little, but he was generally good.The amount of suspense in this movie is just right. You feel the tension building up, but it's not over-the-top cartoonish. It's not like horror movies where the idiot goes back into the scary house to get their favorite thing, or whatever. This is slower and insidious.I have to admit I get irritated every time when I see Julia Roberts' character do one really stupid thing to sabotage her own plans. She obviously thought out her plan very carefully and set herself up to carry it out successfully when the time came, but then she does one little stupid thing that starts the chain of her undoing. Ridiculous. I also don't understand how she can afford to start the next life. Some people would find these inconsistent details enough of a turn off, but I enjoy the movie as a whole so I put up with it. It's fun, cute and creates just enough of an atmosphere of dread and menace in spots.

It may be old but a powerful plot and, sadly, still relevant to today's world.

!!! Vorsicht SPOILER !!!Da plant die gute Laura ihre Flucht bis ins kleinste Detail und dann macht sie solch einen Blödsinn bevor sie verschwindet.Anstatt die vorbereitete Tasche zu schnappen und nix wie weg, stellt sie sich erstmal gemütlich ins Bad und schneidet hübsch die Haare. Welche sie dann anschließend inklusive Ehering im Klo entsorgt...HALLO, GEHT'S NOCH?!Schon beim betrachten dieser Szene hätte ich am liebsten den Fernseher angebrüllt. Was für eine dumme Nuss!!!Da täuscht man seinen eigenen Tod vor und dann hinterlässt man selbst noch schön Brotkrumen. Wie doof kann man eigentlich sein?!Also ich weiß ja nicht wieviel Personen hier schonmal versucht haben Haare im Klo zu entsorgen, aber einfach runterspülen funktioniert nicht. Wenn's ganz doof läuft verstopft man somit nur die Toilette. Ansonsten schwimmt der Batzen oder einzelne Haare auch erstmal ne Zeitlang im Klowasser. Gerade wenn man es eilig hat würde man sich dadurch nur noch mehr Arbeit machen. Und der Ring... Ich rege mich da immer noch drüber auf! Die hat einen ganzen Ozean vor der Haustür. Wo entsorgt sie den Ring?! Im Klo...Falls er am Strand angespült worden wäre (wenn überhaupt) hätte man sich nix dabei gedacht. Aber das er eher unwahrscheinlich zur Toilette hochkommen wird, wenn sie im Meer absaufen tut, dass ist ja wohl jedem klar...Solche Aktionen macht man NICHT zu Hause wenn man auf der Flucht ist!!!Desweiteren war ihre optische Verwaltung ziemlich dürftig. Die Gute hat einfach nur die Haare geschnitten. Na so verändert wird sie ihr Ehemann bestimmt nicht wieder erkennen und finden können...Typisch Bösewicht wurde hier beim Showdown zum Schluss mal wieder richtig dick aufgetragen. Drei Schüsse in die Brust. Und er verfolgt sein Ziel noch immer unbeirrt. Also für diejenigen die es nicht wissen. Spätestens nach dem 2. Schuss wären die Lichter aus gewesen. Es ist sehr unrealistisch zu glauben ein Bösewicht sein ein Supermensch. Der nach erstechen, erschlagen, verbrennen und erschießen trotzdem immer noch laufen und jagen kann...Man hört es aus meiner Bewertung vllg nicht unbedingt sofort heraus aber ich fand den Film gut. Er war auch spannend. Aber die unnötige Doofheit von Laura hat mich wirklich sauer gemacht. Wir sind hier beim Film. Das sie irgendwer gesehen hat oder etwas ähnliches bis zum Ehemann hindurch dringt ist ja klar. Schließlich muss der Bösewicht ja irgendwie die Fährte aufnehmen können. Aber das Laura teilweise auch noch selbst daran Schuld ist. Wenn man tatsächlich in solch einer Situation wäre, dann würde man solche dilittante Fehler ganz sicher vermeiden...

Tutto perfetto bluray raro in lingua italiana

This is a review of the standard Region 2 DVD from 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios. Despite being an inexpensive, basic, product, it provides a very good picture and sound.Isn’t it strange! Upon release in early 1991, this spare, tough Julia Roberts film received negative reviews from film critics. Distinguished American critic Roger Ebert, who worked for the upmarket ‘Chicago Sun-Times’, gave it a mere 1½ Stars, describing it as "a slasher movie in disguise”. Even today, it has only a 20% rating from on-line review site ‘Rotten Tomatoes’, and a mediocre 3 Stars in the ‘Radio Times Guide to Films’. Perhaps if it was in Italian, with someone other than Julia Roberts in the lead role of Laura Burney, it would be viewed as a masterpiece!This may sound cynical, but having just watched this film for a second time, after a gap of about a decade, I was much struck (no pun intended) by just how immediate, relevant and prescient this film is. The issue it deals with is still very much a current one, in the lives of far too many women ~ and sometimes men ~ in the US, UK and many other places. We watch the film, with its brutal, overtly violent, manipulative control-freakery by Laura’s husband Martin, and we are horrified, indignant, angry. But how many other Martins are out there, ostensibly polite, normal, successful, charming, but lashing out and then describing the beating as an ‘argument’, where the blame lies 50-50 on both parties.In her early films, Julia Roberts had proved herself a good comedy actress (‘Mystic Pizza’ in 1988) and excellent in romances (the hugely successful ‘Pretty Woman’ in 1990). It has been suggested that this film was her opportunity to show her metal in a more dramatic role. Well, if that was the idea, it succeeded. She proves herself equal to both the tense, fraught submission needed to stay safe at home, and then to the anxiety and fear as she bids for freedom. The fact that she is one of the most naturally attractive women of her generation does not detract from the fact that she actually can act rather well.Her co-stars are less well known, but impressive. Irish actor Patrick Bergin, plays Martin. Tall and muscular, he is very convincing both as the smooth businessman and the creepy, violent, compulsive. Kevin Anderson plays Ben, who befriends Laura. A member of John Malkovich’s Chicago-based 'Steppenwolf Theatre Company', his relaxed ‘down-home’ style is perfect for the role.Director Joseph Ruben keeps a tight and effective rein on the action. His very atmospheric alternating of relaxed, sunlit seashores and small town normality, with storms and lamp-light works well, the clues are nicely strewn for us, the chills are palpable.Immediate, tough and convincing, this may not be a work of art, but it remains, sadly, only too relevant today. 4 strong Stars.

I bought the 2011 Fox blu ray re-release. The only extras are a trailer and a little "featurette" advertising the movie (so nothing, really).I don't think this movie is effective if it's supposed to be about domestic abuse. It follows a horror-genre formula with plenty of boo-scares. However, those scares are really well set up. Jerry Goldsmith's score is masterful. The main theme is sometimes unnerving but also sometimes swells up to represent independence.You can look at this movie as being about style. The stalker lives in one of those boxy, "modern", open-concept homes. It's situated to give perfect lighting and a perfect view, but it feels vacuous and negating. In contrast, the woman being stalked rents a country-style home in a small town. The stalker exploits the small town "everybody-knows-everybody" friendliness.It's worth a re-watch for me, but mostly my attention will drift to the sets and music. The new romance side of the plot, I find, is really awkward. The guy is at first creepy, being wierd about the poor woman picking apples. He rapidly tries to get her into bed, but then she's happy with him and he charms her with a costume-wearing frolic in the drama department at night. I don't think my reaction is what the director was going for. Anyway, good music; I'd give this all the stars if there was an isolated score.