SHE IS A STRANGER IN A SMALL TOWN. SHE CHANGED HER NAME. HER LOOKS. HER LIFE. ALL TO ESCAPE THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN SHE’S EVER MET. HER HUSBAND.
Laura (Julia Roberts) arranges her own accidental death so she can disappear from her abusive husband (Patrick Bergin); as she starts a new life, he realizes that he’s been conned. It’s no mystery why this thriller became a huge hit with women; Roberts is likable in the lead and her escape from a handsome but violent man hit a special nerve with the target audience. Bergin is suitably creepy, Jerry Goldsmith’s score memorable and there are effective moments, but the characters, story and symbolism are clumsily black and white.
1991-U.S. 98 min. Color. Directed by Joseph Ruben. Screenplay: Ronald Bass. Novel: Nancy Price. Music: Jerry Goldsmith. Cast: Julia Roberts (Laura Burney), Patrick Bergin (Martin Burney), Kevin Anderson (Ben Woodward), Elizabeth Lawrence, Kyle Secor, Claudette Nevins.
Trivia: Jane Fonda and Kim Basinger were reportedly considered for the lead.
