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Plot

Hot off her success in Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts starred in this thriller about a battered wife stalked by her abusive husband. Roberts plays Laura Burney, the wife of a rich investment counselor, Martin (Patrick Bergin). Martin appreciates his wife as a trophy, but at home he abuses her for not keeping the house as clean as he would like it. The verbal abuse descends into physical violence --so much so that Laura decides to disappear rather than live a life under Martin as a brutalized slave. Laura fakes her own death by drowning, and relocates to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she changes her name to Sara Waters. She starts a relationship with her friendly Iowa neighbor Ben Woodward (Kevin Anderson), but her happiness is short-lived. Martin has discovered that Laura has staged her drowning and is coming to Iowa to reclaim his possession.
MPAA Rating:
for wife abuse terror and a sex scene.
Genre(s):
Drama,Thriller
Run Time:
99min.
Theatrical Release Date:
02/08/1991
DVD Release Date:
09/02/2003
Distributor(s):
20th Century Fox
Director(s):
Joseph Ruben
Starring:
Julia Roberts , Patrick Bergin , Kevin Anderson , Elizabeth Lawrence , Kyle Secor
Themes:
Starting Over,Domestic Abuse,Assumed Identities,Woman In Jeopardy,Stalkers,Haunted By the Past
Tone:
Melancholy,Eerie,Ominous,Moody,Menacing,Paranoid
Keywords:
abuse,betrayal,captive,captor,control,deception,escape,husband,obsession,on-the-run,revenge,romance,search,spouse,spouse-abuse,stalking,teacher,woman
Country of Origin:
USA (02-08-1991)