Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Sleeping with the Enemy

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for violence, language, and sex.

Reviewed by: Gabe Rodriguez
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Thriller
Length: 1 hr. 39 min.
Year of Release: 1991
USA Release:
Cover Graphic from Sleeping With the Enemy
Featuring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson, Elizabeth Lawrence, Kyle Secor
Director Joseph Ruben
Producer 20th Century Fox
Distributor Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Trademark logo.20th Century Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company

“Sleeping with the Enemy” is one of the creepiest, most intense thrillers of the nineties. It stars Julia Roberts as Laura, a beautiful young trophy wife to Martin, a handsome, wealthy businessman.

Behind closed doors, Martin is abusive to Laura and often physically bruises her. One night, when they decide to go sailing, Laura jumps overboard and fakes her own drowning. She then escapes Martin’s evil clutches and moves to a sleepy and peaceful Iowa town where she can be near her mother, who is blind and in a nursing home. It is in this town that she meets Ben, a friendly drama teacher at the local college. The two eventually become a happy couple and fall in love, but not without much reservation from Laura because of her abusive past. Before long, Martin discovers some clues that lead to his conclusion that Laura is not really dead. He becomes obsessed with tracking down Laura’s whereabouts.

From a Christian perspective, “Sleeping with the Enemy” is a rather soft R-rated thriller. It has brief use of the f-word, but that basically consists of the objectionable language. Violence is moderate, with a bit of lethal violence towards the end. The whole film, however, is brimming with intensity and it’s all very scary. There is a brief, mild sex scene towards the beginning, but it is mostly implied.

For older teens (15 or so and up) and their parents, “Sleeping with the Enemy” proves to be a lean, cunning thriller that has thick suspense you could cut with a knife.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
I have seen this movie several times. I enjoy it more every time. It’s creepy and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. But there is very little profanity and the only actual violence is right at the end. The acting in this movie is superb and believable. If you are looking for a great thriller, with very little offensive material, this is your film. My Ratings: [3½/4]
Lisa Sutter, age 23
I also enjoyed “Sleeping with the Enemy”. It’s one of the best thrillers that I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen many, but in most cases, they wind up being very predictable and not thrilling whatsoever. However, I thought this movie was thrilling, entertaining, and Julia Roberts gives an outstanding performance. My Ratings: [2½/4]
Maggi, age 24