Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
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A woman fakes her own death to escape an abusive marriage, only to find her new life threatened when her husband tracks her down.
The story
Laura Burney appears to have an idyllic life and a happy marriage to Martin, a successful Boston investment counselor. However, beneath his charming exterior, Martin is an obsessive and controlling man who has abused Laura for years. During a sailing trip in a severe storm, Laura is presumed to have been swept overboard and is declared missing. In reality, she fakes her death to escape his abuse and moves to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she adopts a new identity as 'Sara Waters'. She begins a new life and meets a neighbor named Ben, but her peace is threatened when Martin discovers she is alive and begins to track her down.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Laura Burney lives a life of abuse under her husband Martin, a man who hides his controlling nature behind a charming exterior. During a sailing trip, a storm causes Laura to be swept overboard; she is presumed dead, but she actually fakes her death to escape him. She moves to Iowa, changes her name to Sara Waters, and begins a new life with the help of her neighbor, Ben. Martin eventually discovers she is alive after finding her wedding ring and tracking her to the nursing home where she hid her mother. He begins stalking her and Ben. When Martin eventually confronts her at her new home, a physical altercation ensues. Ben attempts to intervene but is knocked unconscious. Laura manages to get the upper hand, disarming Martin and holding him at gunpoint. When the police arrive, she claims she has killed an intruder and shoots Martin three times. He dies from his wounds, and she is left safe with Ben.
- First release year
- 1991
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joseph Ruben
- Writers
- Ronald Bass · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Julia Roberts · Laura Burney; Patrick Bergin · Martin; Kevin Anderson · Ben
- Genres
- psychological thriller; drama
- Themes
- domestic violence; stalking; identity; escape
- Tone and mood
- tense; suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- stalker thriller; identity theft; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics but was a box-office success, breaking records for a film with a female lead.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 24% · scale: percentage · review count: 38; Metacritic · score: 48 · scale: 100 · review count: 22
- Awards and nominations
- BMI Film Music Award · score · 1992 · win; Saturn Award · Best Actress (Roberts) · 1992 · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actor (Bergin) · 1992 · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Horror Film · 1992 · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Music (Goldsmith) · 1992 · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film broke the record for the highest domestic opening for a film with a female lead.; Several unofficial remakes of the film have been made in India.; A remake was reported to be in development in 2019.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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