Sleeping With The Enemy

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Amaiya Pannell PSY 306 November 18, 2008 Extra Credit Asst. #2 The film I chose to expound on is Sleeping With The Enemy, starring Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin. It perfectly displays the emotions and situations that are consistent with obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and domestic violence as well. Everything seems perfect from the outside looking in, but behind closed doors, it is the total opposite. Roberts plays Laura Burney, the wife of a rich investment counselor, Martin (Patrick Bergin) and at the beginning of the movie, Mr. Burney seemed to be the ideal husband but with a hint of obsession. He was always looking for his wife and every single activity that she was involved in. As the movie continues, it is revealed that he also has an obsession with material things such as placement of towels and canned foods. The verbal abuse then escalades into physical violence when he accused her of having the neighbor over, claiming that he had watched him from the house. After this incident, he follows a pattern consistent with the cycle of violence; making up with Laura by buying gifts and flowers, with the hopes of everything being calm again. I noticed then that Laura began to fear him and becomes submissive to him in every way in order to avoid confrontation. This all continues until Laura gets fed up, so much so that Laura decides to disappear rather than live a life enslaved to Martin. One night, Laura takes her husband and neighbor out on a sailboat one stormy evening to execute her plan of escape. She "falls" off of the boat and swims ashore. Her husband believes that Laura died at sea because she could not swim, when in actuality, Laura had been taking swimming lessons at the YWCA in order to facilitate her plan. After disposing of her ring in the toilet, packing a small bag with some personal items and money, Laura Burns abandons her

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