6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Laura is a young woman who thinks she's found the man of her dreams in Martin. But after they are married, Laura discovers the "real" Martin: compulsive, controlling and dangerously violent. She escapes by faking her own death and relocating to a small Midwestern town. But even with a new identity, Laura lives in fear, stalked by the memory of Martin's brutality...a memory that comes to life with a vengeance when he discovers that she is still alive!
Starring: Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson (I), Elizabeth Lawrence, Kyle SecorPsychological thriller | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Russian: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
Czech: Dolby Digital 2.0
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese: Dolby Digital Mono
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Star power isn't always good for a film. Julia Roberts was a promising newcomer when she signed onto Sleeping with the Enemy, but by the time filming began, Pretty Woman had made Roberts a superstar. Ever since then, Sleeping with the Enemy has been known as a "Julia Roberts movie", when it would be more accurate to call it a "Joseph Ruben movie". The director had already demonstrated his talent for creating terror and suspense from heightened versions of everyday threats in The Stepfather, whose homicidal title character shared the same obsession with domestic order as the abusive husband in Sleeping with the Enemy. Ruben would attempt something similar with a variant of sibling rivalry in The Good Son, and he'd already dabbled in crime and politics with the underrated True Believer. When he made the mistake of stepping outside his comfort zone and tried a story driven by non-human forces in The Forgotten, the results were disappointing. But while Roberts' new notoriety was good for the box office and guaranteed the film a long life in Fox's catalogue, Roberts isn't the reason why the film holds up. A film like Sleeping with the Enemy is only as good as its villain, and Patrick Bergin's obsessively controlling monster of a husband, who can seem oh-so-normal to everyone else, is what gives the film its real edge. Bergin's scenes, and the scenes where you can feel his influence, because all of his wife's energy is devoted to evading him, are the best reason to see the film.
The 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray image is soft but detailed, such that the elaborate design of the Burney household is readily apparent. It's a cold environment, dominated by whites, blues and grays, with an occasional splash of vivid color to liven things up (like the lingerie Martin gives Laura). The pallette warms considerably when Laura reaches the Midwest; the house she rents is dominated by earthtones. The transfer delivers these shifts effectively, while fleshtones remain natural. Black levels appear accurate, with just occasional "crushing" here and there in the night-time sailing sequences. Grain is apparent but well-controlled, and I saw no evidence of DNR or other filtering, nor did I spot any compression-related artifacts.
As is typical of 5.1 remixes for films originally released in Dolby Stereo, the soundtrack is largely front-centered, but the surrounds do provide ambient support at key moments. Notable examples include the stormy sailing sequence during which Laura stages her disappearance and a session of Ben's theater class during which the echo of his voice becomes increasingly pronounced as the camera pulls farther back, ultimately revealing that he's being observed by someone. Bass extension is substantially improved by the discrete format, which is valuable for both the original score by Jerry Goldsmith and the soundtrack selections that play a key role in the story, notably Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique and Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl".
Since this is one of its own catalogue titles, Fox has provided a main menu and bookmarking. Now, if only the people in charge of MGM titles would get the memo.
Aside from its basic plot, one of the notable features of Sleeping with the Enemy is how it portrays American life. The inhabitants of a small town in Iowa are seen as decent, friendly, concerned about their neighbors and receptive to newcomers. It's the eastern seaboard that bred a demon like Martin Burney and turned a blind eye to his misdeeds for years. Such favorable depictions of the American small town are supposed to be beyond Hollywood's capability, according to certain partisans, despite the steady stream of examples to the contrary, including It's a Wonderful Life, Field of Dreams and yes, Sleeping with the Enemy. Such people are like Martin Burney, always trying to force reality into a rigidly preconceived order and frequently losing their temper when it refuses to stack up neatly for them. Sleeping with the Enemy is highly recommended on its technical merits. I give the film a qualified recommendation, for reasons discussed above.
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