The 90s was a great decade for thrillers and Sleeping with the Enemy is one of the more high-profile thrillers of that decade. This was a monster hit and a huge reason for that was Julia Roberts was the star and he was one of the biggest actresses on the planet at this time. When you read just how much money this made and how much Julia Roberts was paid, it is easy to see why this movie was such a big deal.
How to Download Sleeping with the Enemy
Sleeping with the Enemy was released on February 8, 1991. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you want to see Julia Roberts in other films, we recommend Pretty Woman (1990), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), Notting Hill (1999), Runaway Bride (1999), Erin Brockovich (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), or Ticket to Paradise (2022).
The Movie Review
A Fantastic Start
Having watched this for the first time in a very long time, I have to be honest and say that this is one of those movies that was better in my memory. Once it ended, I said to my wife, “I remember that being so much better!” I did not hate the movie, but it just got worse the longer it went on and it only lasted around 90 minutes.
Building Suspense
The start of Sleeping with the Enemy is fantastic and it does an amazing job of showing what an abusive piece of garbage Martin is. Martin is a character that to the outside world is so nice, charming, and loving to his wife. It is like Martin and Laura have the perfect marriage, something that many people wish they had.
Yet, behind closed doors, this is anything but a happy marriage. Matin is verbally, physically, and sexually abusive to Laura and it is brutal. The sexual assault scene is truly awful and even all these years later is so hard to watch. They truly do a wonderful job of making you hate Martin and want Laura to get the hell out of there.
Laura’s Escape Plan
Well, Laura has had enough and she comes up with a very clever plan to fake her death and run away to Idaho where she will have a new name and a new life. Sleeping with the Enemy from the start to when Laura runs away is like a 9/10 movie. It is so well done, it makes you so connected to Laura, but then it kind of all falls apart.
A Thrilling Start That Falters
To start with Laura meets a new guy, Ben, Ben is a nice guy, but it also feels like Laura would have fallen for the first guy who was nice to her. The way that Martin finds out Laura is alive is so dumb and weird. Ok, so this is a spoiler, but Laura goes to all this effort to plan her death and run away, but she thinks putting her wedding ring in the toilet and then not checking it has flushed away was a good idea?
The stuff with Martin stalking Laura happens way too fast and is over way too quickly. It feels like the movie needed at least 20 more minutes of this and also a better way for him to have confirmed that she was still alive. This is a movie that really does start off at 100 mph, but it just loses more and more steam all the way until the ending, which is very predictable by the way.
Final Thoughts
Sleeping with the Enemy is not a horrible movie, but I have seen so many better movies of this style. It is a real shame too as the start is great and does such a good job of getting you into the story and loving the heroine and hating the villain. However, it never builds on this and it just falls flat by the time the credits roll. Hey, perhaps I am being too harsh, my wife says that she loves this movie and I am sure many others do so give it a watch and see what you think.
