Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

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.

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writers:

Nancy Price (novel), Ronald Bass (screenplay)

Stars:

Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Julia Roberts	...	Laura Burney
Patrick Bergin	...	Martin Burney
Kevin Anderson	...	Ben Woodward
Elizabeth Lawrence	...	Chloe Williams
Kyle Secor	...	Fleishman
Claudette Nevins	...	Dr. Rissner
Tony Abatemarco	...	Locke
Marita Geraghty	...	Julie
Harley Venton	...	Garber
Nancy Fish	...	Woman on Bus
Sandi Shackelford	...	Edna
Bonnie Johnson	...	Mrs. Nepper (as Bonnie Cook)
Graham Harrington	...	Minister
John Ward	...	Theater Student (as John David Ward)
Sharon J. Robinson	...	Sharon (the Nurse)

Storyline

Laura and Martin have been married for four years. They seem to be the perfect, happiest and most successful couple. The reality of their house- hold, however, is very different. Martin is an abusive and brutally obsessed husband. Laura is living her life in constant fear and waits for a chance to escape. She finally stages her own death, and flees to a new town and new identity. But when Martin finds out that his wife is not dead he will stop at nothing to find and kill her.

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Plot Keywords:

psychopath | domestic violence | escape | new identity | villain not really dead cliche | 

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Taglines:

Self-Defense is not murder

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for wife abuse terror and a sex scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Feind in meinem Bett

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$101,580,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of a cycle of thrillers made during the early 1990s which were set around husband and wife characters. The films include Malice - Eine Intrige (1993), Deceived (1991), Shattered (1991), Mortal Thoughts (1991), Consenting Adults (1992), Fatale Begierde (1992), Presumed Innocent (1990), Guilty as Sin (1993), Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) and A Kiss Before Dying (1991).

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Goofs

When Laura is arranging flowers at the beginning of the movie, she stops to smell a spray of white orchids (phalaenopsis) which have no detectable odor.

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Quotes

Laura: [on phone, with gun aimed at Martin] Come quickly. I've just killed an intruder.

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Connections

Referenced in Private Practice: Nothing to Talk About (2008)

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Soundtracks

RUNAROUND SUE
Written by Dion DiMucci and Ernie Maresca
Performed by Dion DiMucci (as Dion)
Courtesy of Laurie Records

User Reviews

Not Bad

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.