Sleeping with the Enemy

Last updated

Sleeping with the Enemy
Sleeping With The Enemy.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joseph Ruben [1]
Screenplay by Ronald Bass
Based on Sleeping with the Enemy
by Nancy Price [2]
Produced by Leonard Goldberg
Starring
Cinematography John Lindley
Edited by George Bowers
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • February 8, 1991 (1991-02-08)(United States)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million [3]
Box office$175 million [3]

Sleeping with the Enemy is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, and Kevin Anderson. The film is based on Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name. [2] Roberts plays a woman who fakes her own death and moves from Cape Cod to Cedar Falls, Iowa to escape from her controlling, obsessive, and abusive husband, but finds her peaceful new life interrupted when he discovers her actions and tracks her down.

Contents

Sleeping with the Enemy was released theatrically on February 8, 1991. It received generally negative reviews from the critics, but it was a box-office success, grossing $175 million on a production budget of $19 million. The film also broke the record at the time for the highest domestic opening for a film with a female lead, grossing $13 million on its opening weekend and surpassing the previous record held by Aliens , which grossed $10 million in its first weekend.

Plot

Laura Burney has a seemingly idyllic life and a happy marriage to Martin, a successful Boston investment counselor, and they live in a luxurious home overlooking the sea of Cape Cod. Beneath Martin's charming, handsome exterior, however, is an obsessive and controlling person who has physically, emotionally, and sexually abused Laura throughout their nearly four-year marriage. Then, in a recurring pattern, he apologetically showers her with flowers and gifts.

Martin accepts the invitation of their neighbor, a doctor, for an evening sail, despite knowing that Laura fears water and cannot swim. As a severe storm unexpectedly rolls in, Martin and the doctor struggle to control the vessel. Laura is swept overboard. After an extensive Coast Guard search, Laura’s body is never recovered, and she is presumed dead from drowning, and Martin is inconsolable.

Laura is revealed to actually be alive. After secretly learning to swim, she planned to fake her own death to escape Martin's abuse. During the storm, she jumped overboard, swam ashore, and returned home. She cut her hair, donned a wig, took her stashed belongings and money, and headed to a nearby bus station.

Laura moves to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Previously, she had told Martin that her blind, stroke-impaired mother, Chloe, had died, but Laura had secretly moved Chloe to an Iowa nursing home. Laura rents a house, finds a job, and settles into a new life as "Sara Waters". Her neighbor, Ben Woodward, a young drama teacher at a local college, is attracted to Laura, though he suspects she has a chequered past. They have an agreeable date, but when a kiss turns more physical, Laura resists and demands that Ben leave. She later admits to him that she escaped an abusive marriage.

Martin learns that Laura had taken swim classes, which indicates she may still be alive. This is confirmed when he finds Laura's wedding ring in the toilet, which hadn't properly flushed as she had believed. Martin travels to Chloe's nursing home, masquerading as a detective, and learns that Chloe's "nephew" has just visited. Laura, disguised as a man, is also at the nursing home and barely misses encountering Martin. Martin discovers Laura's whereabouts and learns about Ben. He trails the couple to Laura's new house and breaks in while she and Ben are outside. Laura notices the small clues Martin deliberately left inside the house: the hand towels perfectly aligned and the contents of the kitchen cabinets lined up to Martin's exacting standards.

Martin then confronts Laura as Ben smashes the door down and attempts to subdue Martin, who knocks him unconscious. As Martin aims his gun at Ben, Laura distracts him by slamming her knee into his groin. She grabs Martin's gun and holds him at gunpoint. As Laura calls the police, Martin expects her to tell the police to protect her from him, as she had done in the past, but Laura shocks Martin by informing the police she has killed an intruder and then shoots Martin three times in the chest. A wounded Martin seizes Laura by the hair and grabs the gun, aiming it at her in a desperate attempt to kill her, but the gun clicks empty. Martin then dies from his wounds, while Laura and Ben embrace and wait for the police.

Cast

Filming

Filming began in Wilmington on April 2, 1990, and continued through May 12. [4]

Release

Critical reception

As of July 2024, the film held a 24% "Rotten" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 38 reviews with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's consensus states: "A game Julia Roberts gives it her all, but Sleeping with the Enemy is one stalker thriller that's unlikely to inspire many obsessions of its own." [5] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. [7]

Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars out of a possible 4 upon its release, saying while the film had good performances and the opening scenes "briefly seemed to have greatness in its grasp", Sleeping with the Enemy quickly fell into cliches and plot holes and became "a slasher movie in disguise, an up-market version of the old exploitation formula where the victim can run, but she can't hide." [8] Another mostly negative review came from Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly , who wrote that the film "has the bare bones of a tantalizing thriller" and praised Robert's performance ("you can practically feel her pulse"), but also felt Bergin's role was too "mechanical" to be believed, and placing blame on the "deadwood" script. [9]

Box office

The film's opening ended Home Alone 's twelve week run atop the box office. [10] By the end of its run, the film had grossed $101,599,005 in the domestic box office; with an international total of $73,400,000, the film's worldwide gross was $174,999,005; based on a $19 million budget, the film was a box office success. [11] The film was released in the United Kingdom on April 12, 1991, and opened on #2, behind Highlander II: The Quickening . [12] The next week, the film remained in the same position. [13]

Soundtrack

The original music for the film was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. Columbia Records released an album concurrently with the film containing just over 38 minutes of score plus the Van Morrison song "Brown Eyed Girl". In 2011, La-La Land Records issued a limited edition album of 3500 copies expanding Goldsmith's score (but omitting the song).

Home media

The film reached #1 in the rental charts in September 1991, [14] and ended up as the ninth most rented movie that year in the United States. [15] It was released on LaserDisc in Australia, the United States, United Kingdom and Japan by Fox Video in 1991. [16] It also received various releases on VHS, was released on DVD on 2 September 2003, and subsequently entered the market of Blu-ray in June 2011. As of August 2023, it still hasn't been released on 4K. [17] [18]

Awards

The score by Jerry Goldsmith won the BMI Film Music Award, 1992, and the film was nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Award for 1992 in four categories: Best Actress (Roberts), Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor (Bergin), Best Horror Film and Best Music (Goldsmith).

Remakes

In February 2019, it was reported that a remake of Sleeping with the Enemy was in development at Searchlight Pictures, with Nia DaCosta helming the project. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Roberts</span> American actress (born 1967)

Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. The films in which she has starred have collectively grossed over $3.9 billion globally, making her one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. After an early breakthrough with appearances in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), Roberts established herself as a leading actress when she headlined the top-grossing romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990).

<i>The Sixth Sense</i> 1999 film by M. Night Shyamalan

The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient claims he can see and talk to the dead.

<i>Pretty Woman</i> 1990 film by Garry Marshall

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, Laura San Giacomo, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. The film's story centers on Hollywood escort Vivian Ward and wealthy businessman Edward Lewis. Vivian is hired to be Edward's escort for several business and social functions, and their relationship develops during her week-long stay with him. The film's title Pretty Woman is based on the 1964 song "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison. The original screenplay was titled "3,000," and was written by then-struggling screenwriter J. F. Lawton.

<i>Steel Magnolias</i> 1989 film by Herbert Ross

Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy drama film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts. The screenplay by Robert Harling is based on his 1987 play of the same name about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own. The supporting cast features Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, Kevin J. O'Connor, and Sam Shepard.

<i>Men in Black II</i> 2002 science fiction action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

Men in Black II is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in association with MacDonald Parkes Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the sequel to Men in Black (1997) and the second installment in the Men in Black film series. The film was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro, and it stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, with Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub, and Rip Torn in supporting roles. It featured Michael Jackson's last theatrical film appearance before his death in 2009. In the film, the emergence of an assumed subdued alien threat reunites Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones) and James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box office</span> Office selling event tickets

A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is frequently used, especially in the context of the film industry, as a metonym for the amount of business a particular production, such as a film or theatre show, receives. The term is also used to refer to a ticket office at an arena or a stadium.

<i>Stepmom</i> (1998 film) Film by Chris Columbus

Stepmom is a 1998 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Wendy Finerman, Mark Radcliffe, and Michael Barnathan. The screenplay was written by Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson, Steven Rogers, Karen Leigh Hopkins, and Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. Its plot follows a terminally ill woman dealing with her ex-husband's new lover, who will soon be their children's stepmother.

<i>Willard</i> (1971 film) 1971 film by Daniel Mann

Willard is a 1971 American horror film directed by Daniel Mann and written by Gilbert Ralston, based on Stephen Gilbert's novel Ratman's Notebooks. Bruce Davison stars as social misfit Willard Stiles, who is squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father. His only friends are a couple of rats raised at home, including Ben and Socrates, and their increasing number of friends. When Socrates is killed by Willard's boss, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack.

Patrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer perhaps best known for his leading role opposite Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), the title character in Robin Hood, terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in Patriot Games and for playing the villainous Aidan Maguire in the BBC soap EastEnders in 2017–2018.

<i>They</i> (2002 film) 2002 American supernatural horror film, directed by Robert Harmon

They is a 2002 American supernatural horror film, directed by Robert Harmon and starring Laura Regan, Ethan Embry, Dagmara Dominczyk, Jay Brazeau, and Marc Blucas. The plot is centered on a group of four adults experiencing night terrors and attempting to deal with the fallout from their prior childhood experiences. The film was produced by Ted Field and Tom Engleman; Wes Craven served as one of its executive producers and was its presenter.

<i>Freddys Dead: The Final Nightmare</i> 1991 film by Rachel Talalay

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film and the sixth film in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. It is a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and was originally intended to be the final installment of the series; Wes Craven's New Nightmare was released three years later but takes place outside the series canon. A canonical crossover/sequel, Freddy vs. Jason, was released in 2003. This was New Line Cinema's first 3D film release.

<i>Blonde Ambition</i> 2007 film by Scott Marshall

Blonde Ambition is a 2007 American romantic comedy film directed by Scott Marshall and starring Jessica Simpson as a small-town girl who moves to New York City and rises up into a career as a business woman. The film also stars Luke Wilson, Rachael Leigh Cook, Penelope Ann Miller, Andy Dick, Drew Fuller, Larry Miller and Willie Nelson.

<i>Sleeping with the Enemy</i> (novel) 1987 novel by Nancy Price

Sleeping with the Enemy is a novel written by Nancy Price and published in 1987. It served as the basis for Sleeping with the Enemy, a 1991 film starring Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin, which was remade a number of times.

<i>Chloe</i> (2009 film) Erotic thriller film

Chloe is a 2009 erotic thriller film directed by Atom Egoyan, a remake of the 2003 French film Nathalie.... It stars Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried in the title role. Its screenplay was written by Erin Cressida Wilson, based on the earlier French film, written by Anne Fontaine.

<i>Larry Crowne</i> 2011 film by Tom Hanks

Larry Crowne is a 2011 American romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The film was produced and directed by Hanks, who co-wrote its screenplay with Nia Vardalos. The story was inspired by Hanks' time studying at Chabot College. The film tells the story of Larry Crowne, a middle-aged man who unexpectedly loses his job and returns to education. It was released in the United States on July 1, 2011.

<i>The Equalizer</i> (film) 2014 American film by Antoine Fuqua

The Equalizer is a 2014 American vigilante action film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Richard Wenk. It is based on the 1980s TV series of the same title and the first of three films starring Denzel Washington. The cast includes Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo. Washington plays Robert McCall, an ex-Marine and DIA officer, who reluctantly returns to action to protect a teenage trafficking victim from the members of the Russian mafia.

<i>Marry Me</i> (2022 film) American film by Kat Coiro

Marry Me is a 2022 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kat Coiro, with a screenplay by John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill. Based on the 2012 graphic novel of the same title by Bobby Crosby, it stars Jennifer Lopez as Kat Valdez, a superstar, who decides to marry Charlie Gilbert, a math teacher holding a "Marry Me" sign, after learning that her on-stage bridegroom, Bastian (Maluma), has been having an affair.

<i>The Addams Family 2</i> 2021 film by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon

The Addams Family 2 is a 2021 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters created by Charles Addams and the sequel to The Addams Family (2019). It was directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and co-directed by Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic, from a screenplay by Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Ben Queen, and Susanna Fogel, and a story by Hernandez and Samit. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, Wallace Shawn, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Bill Hader. It tells the story of the Addams family as they go on a road trip.

<i>Watcher</i> (film) 2022 film by Chloe Okuno

Watcher is a 2022 psychological thriller film written and directed by Chloe Okuno in her feature directorial debut, based on an original screenplay by Zack Ford. The film stars Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, and Burn Gorman.

References

  1. ↑ Granville, Kari (February 8, 1991). "Joseph Ruben Finally Gets His Crane : Movies: A veteran director of low-budget fare makes it to majors with 'Sleeping With the Enemy.'". The Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Price, Nancy. "Nancy Price - Biography". Nancypricebooks.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Sleeping with the Enemy at Box Office Mojo Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ https://eu.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2016/02/08/sleeping-with-the-enemy-brought-julia-roberts-and-one-heck-of-a-house-to-wrightsville-beach/30992991007/
  5. ↑ "Sleeping with the Enemy". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Sleeping with the Enemy Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (February 8, 1991). "Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020– via RogerEbert.com.
  9. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (February 8, 1991). "Sleeping With the Enemy". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on March 12, 2023.
  10. ↑ Broeske, Pat H. (February 12, 1991). "WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : 'Sleeping,' 'L.A.' Knock 'Home' Out". The Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on August 25, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  11. ↑ Sleeping with the Enemy at Box Office Mojo
  12. ↑ "Weekend box office 12th April 1991 - 14th April 1991". www.25thframe.co.uk. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Weekend box office 19th April 1991 - 21st April 1991". www.25thframe.co.uk. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  14. ↑ Hunt, Dennis (September 5, 1991). "Video Rental Chart : Sales Reduce 'Home' Rentals". The Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Top Video Rentals" (PDF). Billboard . January 4, 1992. p. 42.
  16. ↑ "Laser Disc Laserdisc Movie Sleeping With The Enemy Julia-Roberts". ebay.com.au. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sleeping with the Enemy". DVD Release Dates. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Sleeping with the Enemy Blu-ray". DVDEmpire.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. ↑ Evangelista, Chris (February 26, 2019). "'Sleeping with the Enemy' Remake To Bring The Glory Days Of Trashy '90s Thrillers Into The 21st Century". /Film . Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.