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.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.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.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations
Bonnie Johnson
- Mrs. Nepper
- (as Bonnie Cook)
John Ward
- Theater Student
- (as John David Ward)
Patt Noday
- Amusement Park Guy #2
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJulia Roberts, who was 22 when the film was shot in the spring of 1990, became the youngest actress to earn a seven-figure fee for a single performance.
- GoofsThe cut/bruise on Laura's head comes and goes. After she is hit by Martin leaving a nasty abrasion on the left side of her forehead, he leaves to go to town after telling her they will sail that night. She goes outside to break the lantern, and the wind blows her hair off her forehead - no bruise. Later that night, she has her hair back in a braid, before they get on the boat - no bruise. Then, when she meets Ben a couple days later, she flips her hair off to one side and he sees the bruise. The very next day (or soon after) she has her hair back again with Ben, no bruise.
- Crazy creditsThe 20th Century Fox logo plays without the fanfare.
- Alternate versionsWhen Laura first goes to Ben's house for dinner and the pot roast is on fire she knocks and says "Fire Department." In an alternate cut she knocks and asks "Is this what they mean by warm welcome?".
- SoundtracksRunaround Sue
Written by Dion DiMucci and Ernie Maresca
Performed by Dion DiMucci (as Dion)
Courtesy of Laurie Records
Featured review
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique will never sound the same again!.
Laura marries Martin Burney who appears to be the perfect man, he is handsome and successful, yet the dream of the perfect man becomes a nightmare as Martin is a control freak who abuses her both physically and mentally. Once she decides enough is enough she plots her escape by way of faking her own death by drowning, a new life beckons, but she will always be looking over her shoulder to see if Martin finds out the truth and tracks her down.
Thus the vehicle for Julia Roberts pans out as your just above average thriller. It has some decent moments that keep it from drifting into tedium, the set up perfectly portrays the double life that some people lead, on the social circuit it appears the couple are happy and at one with each other, yet behind their own walls there is violence and the crushing of the spirit. The final third of the film is also well worthy of the word thriller, for the tension is nigh on unbearable as we slowly come to the conclusion, whilst Julia Roberts as Laura does a very tidy job as this sort of modern day princess escaping the evil clutches of her keeper. Must mention the great use of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, it's eerie and impacts hard for the scenes it is used for.
Patrick Bergin plays his role well enough, it's just that his villainy is never fully realised, we see enough to know that what he does is wrong, yet it feels a bit too polished. Whilst a sequence that sees Laura dress up as a man is clearly the low point of the film, it really does stretch the viewers patience, and sadly insults their respective intelligence. It's a mixed bag that isn't quite a waste of time, it just doesn't leave you with anything other than a feeling of being semi fulfilled, shame as it could have been brilliant with a bit more bravery and brains in the script, 6/10.
Thus the vehicle for Julia Roberts pans out as your just above average thriller. It has some decent moments that keep it from drifting into tedium, the set up perfectly portrays the double life that some people lead, on the social circuit it appears the couple are happy and at one with each other, yet behind their own walls there is violence and the crushing of the spirit. The final third of the film is also well worthy of the word thriller, for the tension is nigh on unbearable as we slowly come to the conclusion, whilst Julia Roberts as Laura does a very tidy job as this sort of modern day princess escaping the evil clutches of her keeper. Must mention the great use of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, it's eerie and impacts hard for the scenes it is used for.
Patrick Bergin plays his role well enough, it's just that his villainy is never fully realised, we see enough to know that what he does is wrong, yet it feels a bit too polished. Whilst a sequence that sees Laura dress up as a man is clearly the low point of the film, it really does stretch the viewers patience, and sadly insults their respective intelligence. It's a mixed bag that isn't quite a waste of time, it just doesn't leave you with anything other than a feeling of being semi fulfilled, shame as it could have been brilliant with a bit more bravery and brains in the script, 6/10.
Helpful•227
- hitchcockthelegend
- Mar 3, 2008
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $101,599,005
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $13,777,943
- Feb 10, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $174,999,005
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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