Sleeping With the Enemy was also an impactful movie in that it brought the very serious issue of abuse and sociopathic narcissistic behavior out of the shadows in an era when it wasn't being explored and exposed enough. Her role in the film resonated with audiences to the tune of $175 million at the box office on a budget of just $19 million, clearly showing that Roberts could be successful outside of the rom-com genre. Sleeping With the Enemy was a drastic departure from anything Roberts had done in a blossoming career and once again showed that she had almost limitless range as a performer. Roberts is very convincing as Laura Williams Burney, a woman paralyzed by fear who grows more terrified of her domineering husband Martin (Bergin) as he begins to gaslight and psychologically abuse her while also threatening physical harm if she doesn't stay in check. Based on the 1987 Nancy Price novel of the same name, Sleeping With the Enemy is a serious reality check about an overprotective, controlling, and jealous husband who goes to extreme lengths to keep his wife under his thumb. In 1991, few films had addressed the horror of domestic abuse the way that this heart-pounding thriller did. A year later, Roberts doubled-down on the serious side of things and delivered a terrific performance opposite Patrick Bergin in the very important film Sleeping With the Enemy.
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