Having seen this movie for the first time in years, I can safely say it is an easy, entertaining watch, but my praise stops there i'm afraid. The story of an abused wife who goes to extreme measures, quickly becomes as predictable as the day after Friday is Saturday. The real highlight is that it proved Julia Roberts could act and go beyond rom-com roles. However the same can't be said for Patrick Bergin and Kevin Anderson. Bergin speaks in a soft voice and bulges his eyes to make him scary, which he fails miserably at; Kevin Anderson's character is neither likable nor realistic. It is little wonder that neither of these two actors careers have progressed that much since this film. Also this film has so many unexplained and unrealistic moments that it becomes laughable by the end of the film. How after, i'm assuming at least weeks, does the YWCA decide to call Bergin and tell of Laura's life story? How did Bergin not spot the ring in the toilet before? How did Laura pay for a home for her mother without the supposed dominant husband getting wind of it? How did Laura suddenly become a brilliant swimmer? I ask this because even a reasonable good swimmer would struggle in a storm on the ocean, yet Robert's character was practically a novice, but swims to shore with ease! How come Laura's mum did not recognise Martin's voice when her daughter was with him for four years? What are the odds they never met? It is an insult to blind people as they recognise people by their voices! Why would Martin suffocate Laura's mum? What would it achieve? Wouldn't it be blatantly clear he killed her since he was the last person seen in her room? Also say Robert's character is at the most is 30, why does her mother look more as though she is pushing 80? So that would make her pushing 50 when she gave birth. How does Martin know where Laura lives before he has even started to follow her? He seems to have rearranged a lot as well in the short space of time he has in the house, would even a crazed lunatic go to such lengths? Also when he is in the house he seems to be the greatest ever player of hide and seek. Its only a small house yet he manages to stay out of sight, whilst over-running a bath, rearranging cans, straightening towels and making a hi-fi turn on by itself. The truth is if you are looking for a by the numbers movie this will suit. If you want something that makes sense don't bother with this tripe!

Man, some of the reviews here!

First off, some of the questions raised were the exact same things mentioned in Roger Ebert's review (so much for originality!). And they were answered pretty reasonably by reviewer hawk-58.

Second, since when do we expect a movie to hold our hands and provide all the answers to questions that may come up? Sometimes you have to fill in the blanks yourself. Plot holes? Hey, these are movies, not real life. If plot holes make you mad then it might be time to consider not watching movies anymore!

Third, since when do we expect characters to never make mistakes? The story was unrealistic because Laura made a few errors. Newsflash! People mess up all the time in real life. If they didn't, criminals would never be caught by the police. And frankly, I don't think she messed up as much as some of the reviews imply...again, it's human nature to make some miscalculations and not take certain things into account.

This is certainly not a terrible film, but not a great one either. It's about average, so 6/10 seems right. It's entertaining enough if you have a couple of hours to kill and enjoy the genre, and if your expectations aren't unreasonable.

I like most people first saw this movie years ago during a completely different time. Now, re visiting it many years later through more mature worldly eyes, it clearly makes all the flaws so visible now. The most glaring error would be the fact she went out for an evening sail with two men (one her husband) and fails to return home? it would seem that one or both of them might be considered a person of interest? but no, its all wrapped up with a beach side memorial - no body recovered and an untouched house that was clearly not part of any investigation? Secondly I would assume after mustering up the courage to leave an abusive relationship the LAST thing on her mind would be sparking up a romantic interest before she had all her "starting a new life ducks in a row"? yet she falls right away for an inquisitive young man full of questions about her. As the movie progresses we witness the husband gradually get more and more agitated as he realizes she may still be alive! yet when he first lays eyes on her in the arms of another man, he has the restraint to not say anything and head back to her house to start playing mind games. OH and back to my first point, would it have not been more sensible to have the getaway bag of clothes outside the house? that way she wouldn't have covered the floor with wet sand and salt water foot steps! but I guess it doesn't matter because other than a quick wiping of floor in one area they left that messy part out.