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| “ | That was the night that I died, and someone else was saved. Someone who was afraid of water, but learned to swim. Someone who knew there would be one moment, where he wouldn't be watching. Someone who knew that the darkness of the broken lights would show the way. | „ |
| ~ Laura's narration. |
Laura Burney is the main protagonist of the 1991 psychological thriller Sleeping With The Enemy. she is the abused wife of main antagonist Martin Burney.
She is portrayed by Julia Roberts, who also played Tinker Bell in Hook.
Biography[]
Laura Burney lives in a beautiful home by the beach on Cape Cod with her husband Martin, a charmingly handsome and wealthy investment counselor who is also possessive, abusive and controlling. And to abide by his needs, she seems to suffer under the strain. Martin believes Laura has been flirting with an attractive neighbour, and he physically beats her as punishment. The abuse is an ongoing routine, which began immediately after their wedding. To escape Martin, Laura plans and fakes her own death at sea in a storm while the couple are boating. Laura has deliberately led Martin to believe that she could not swim, so he believed she has died once she was lost overbears. However, having recently taken swimming lessons at the YWCA, she was able to swim safely to shore. She secretly returns home, retrieves some clothing and cash she has hidden away in preparation, disguises herself, and leaves home after flushing her wedding ring down the toilet.
Laura moves to Cedar Falls, Iowa. In preparation, she has told Martin that her mother Chloe Williams, died and pretended to attend the funeral, but secretly she has moved her to a nursing home in Iowa. She rents a modest house and adopts the name Sara Waters. In Cedar Falls, she meets Ben Woodward, who teaches drama at the local college. A relationship develops, but suffers a setback when Ben discovers that her real name is not Sara. After a date, Laura is unable to be physically intimate with Ben, and the next day, she confesses that she is on the run from an abusive husband.
Meanwhile, Martin receives a chance phone call rom a friend of Laura's from the YWCA and learns of Laura's swimming lessons. His suspicions aroused, Martin heads home and finds Laura's wedding ring in the toilet bowl where it failed to flush. From the Cape Cod nursing home, he learns that Laura's mother is alive, and has her traced to the nursing home in Iowa. He visits Laura's mother without revealing his identity and learns from her that Laura is seeing a college drama teacher in Cedar Falls.
Martin finds Laura and Ben at a local fair, then follows her at her home. After leaving idiosyncratic clues around the house for Laura to find, Martin confronts Laura. Ben appears at the door and Martin, brandishing a Heckler and Koch P9S pistol, threatens to kill Ben if she doesn't make him leave. Laura talks to Ben and he appears to leave, but then breaks down the door and struggles with Martin, who knocks him unconscious. As he aims the gun at Ben, Laura distracts and attacks Martin, who drops the gun, and she manages to take control of it; she fires at Martin, but misses.
Laura holds Martin at gunpoint while she calls the police. She then tells the police that she just killed an intruder, hangs up the phone and shoots Martin three times. When Martin falls to the ground she drops the pistol and collapses, sobbing. Martin, not yet dead, picks up the gun and tries to shoot her but the gun only clicks empty. Then Martin dies. Ben is revived by Laura and they embrace as Martin's dead body lies on the ground with Laura's wedding ring inches from his hand.