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SYNOPSIS:
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an abused woman discovers that the dream man she married wasn't whom she thought he was. she and her daughter try to escape, but he pursues relentlessly.
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MOVIE FACT:
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sandra bullock was once attached to star in this film, but after she backed out lopez replaced her.
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RATING:
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one out of four possible stars
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A story concerning a woman who turns the tables on her abusive husband contains a few elements that would make up a pretty entertaining thriller. But somewhere in Jennifer Lopez's new film, Enough, the filmmakers decided to take a small amount of melodrama to add into the mix. Whether this combination makes a good movie is certainly a question for debate, but fans of the usually effervescent Jennifer Lopez can take heart that she puts as much effort as is possible into her performance.
As does the rest of the cast. It fact, the drama in this film is so intense at times that it often seems a bit soupy. That's where the melodrama comes in. Some of the situations in this film could have been scripted a little more believably, considering the serious nature of much of the plot. Spousal abuse is no laughing matter, yet some of the dialogue in this film was sufficient to make the audience giggle a few times. Especially during the first third of the film where the confrontations between Lopez and her abusive husband, played by Bill Campbell first start to erupt, the dialogue, or rather, the motivations of each character, don't always make sense.
Like when they have their first big argument, what comes out of the actors' mouths borders on the ridiculous. Perhaps it's the psychology of spousal abuse, but the reasons for why the actors act as they do is four parts mystery and at least one part strange. And weird as well are the situations in which lopez finds herself as she tries to escape her abusive husband with her small daughter.
The screenwriter sets up scene after scene where Lopez's character, "Slim," is unable to go to the police for whatever reason, and she ends up needing to find some other way to escape the situation. And while Lopez herself might kick some butt in a few of these scenes, most of the narrative is just a series of small flights by lopez's character. Every few scenes, Lopez escapes. Until she realizes she can no longer escape her husband and decides to fight back.
On the surface, this plot seems pretty standard. those who are beaten must find the strength to stand up and fight back. Of course, this film also involves a little bit of the illegal as well, so it's sometimes hard to sympathize with the character, even though her husband is terrorizing her. And her method of "getting back" at her husband is so methodical and so planned, that her phrase "self defense is not murder," as seen in the trailer for Enough doesn't seem to ring true. It's rare to see a character who commits or tries to commit a bad deed not come to justice. Getting away with it seems to be the theme for much of this film. Slim's husband, for much of the film, gets away with terrorizing his wife.
Another sticking point in this movie's plot is the liberal use of clichés. Nothing in this film is too terribly surprising. It's as if the plot of the film wasn't important when filmmakers sat down to create this film. The casting of jennifer lopez was probably highest on the producers' list of priorities. Logic and intelligence aren't part of this film's recipe. And something which illustrates how backward was the production of this film was the casting of Juliette Lewis in such a minor and supporting role.
In the precious few scenes she appeared in, her performance easily eclipsed Lopez's. Though it would be fair to say that Lopez has shown a decent amount of acting talent, it's interesting that a superior actress (Lewis) should be relegated to second banana. But as fame is so fickle in Hollywood, it is probably sufficient to say that Lopez is dearly loved by the media at the moment.
But Lopez's performance was acceptable in this film. Though she wasn't able to shine in the role, her performance, and the acting of the cast that joined her provided the most interesting element of this film. The logic wasn't the strongest part of the movie, as is evidenced by Lopez's miraculous transformation from beaten wife to heroic man beater within a few days. There are quite a few bold inconsistencies like that throughout Enough and one must rely entirely on the ability to sit back, enjoy the film, and leave logic at the concession stand.
Review by Kelsey Wyatt.
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