| Enough | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Apted |
| Written by | Nicholas Kazan |
| Produced by | Rob Cowan Irwin Winkler |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rogier Stoffers |
| Edited by | Rick Shaine |
| Music by | David Arnold |
Production companies | Columbia Pictures Winkler Films |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $38 million[1] |
| Box office | $51.8 million[2] |
Enough is a 2002 Americanpsychological thriller film directed byMichael Apted, based on theNew York Times bestselling 1998 novelBlack and Blue, byAnna Quindlen. It starsJennifer Lopez as Slim, an abused wife who learns to fight back. The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 24, 2002, and grossed $51.8 million worldwide.
The film received largely negative reviews from critics and divisive audience reviews, with criticism over the film's writing and excessive focus on melodramatic action and female empowerment over characterization, with particular reviews deeming the portrayal of domestic violence and character of Mitch as highlystereotypical. The film has been viewed more positively in retrospect, with both Lopez andBilly Campbell in particular receiving praise for their performances.
Slim is awaitress in aLos Angelesdiner where she meets wealthy family man Mitch Hiller, who wards off a rude man trying to hit on her for a bet. They eventually marry, have a daughter named Gracie, and live happily in an expensive house.
Six years later, Slim discovers Mitch has been repeatedly cheating on her with seemingly noremorse whatsoever. When she threatens to leave, hebeats and threatens her. He insists that because he is thebreadwinner, he can do whatever he likes, and he won't end hisaffair unless she wants to fight him. Mitch warns her not to leave, stating that herefuses to live without her.
Slim goes to Mitch's mother about the abuse. She consoles Slim briefly, but implies that Slim may have provoked Mitch's reaction, and that he has a history of abuse. Her best friend Ginny advises her to leave him and press charges, but the police cannot assist. After Mitch taunts Slim, revealing he knows who she has been talking to and has been watching by proxy, Slim sees no choice but to take Gracie and leave. She enlists her friends' help and tries to escape with Gracie late at night, but Mitch foils the plan and beats Slim again while threatening her friends at gunpoint. Mitch is forced to let them escape after they wake up Gracie, as he is unwilling to expose his true nature in front of her.
Mitch empties andfreezes Slim'sbank accounts, leaving her unable to rent a room. Tracking her down at a cheapmotel, he tries to break in, but she escapes with Gracie, moving toSeattle to stay with her ex-boyfriend Joe.
The next day, men posing asFBI agents show up and threaten Joe, damaging his apartment. Slim goes to her wealthy, estranged father, Jupiter. Even though Slim sent several unanswered letters to him as a child, Jupiter claims to have been unaware of her existence and believes she is just after money, unable to accept the fact that he had any children. Slim and Gracie briefly find refuge at a commune, where Jupiter later contacts her, revealing that Mitch's associates have threatened him as well, causing him to be interested in helping her. He sends her a large sum of money, allowing her to set up a new life and identity, and tells her to reach out if she needs more.
Joe visits Slim inMichigan, but Mitch tracks her down with help from hiscorrupt cop friend Robbie, who had posed as the rude man in the staged altercation where Mitch and Slim first met, revealing that they had been conning women into sleeping with them for their personal gain. Slim narrowly escapes a struggle with Mitch who attacks her in a rage in front of Gracie after she further rejects him, as well as escaping from Robbie in a car chase.
Consulting alawyer, she is warned there is little she can do, although he tells her the custody hearing is possibly a trick to lure her back to Mitch. Slim goes into hiding inSan Francisco and sends Gracie away to safety while she trains inKrav Maga while enlisting the help of a woman who looks identical to her. She breaks into Mitch's new home and hides his guns, jams the phone, plants fake letters saying she is there to discuss custody of Gracie and awaits his return. When he arrives they fight and Slim beats Mitch unconscious before she eventually knocks him off a balcony to his death. The police regard her actions asself-defense. Slim and Gracie reunite and go to live with Joe in Seattle.
Enough, produced byColumbia Pictures, is directed byMichael Apted and written byNicholas Kazan.[3] On November 9, 2000,New York Daily News reported that Lopez was in talks to star inEnough, "which follows a newly married young woman's descent into domestic violence after her dream man physically abuses her, causing her to go on the run".[4]Sandra Bullock was originally cast to play Slim, a waitress. In November 2000,Variety magazine reported that Bullock had to back out ofEnough because of a scheduling conflict with another film.[5]
On May 19, 2001, it was reported that Lopez was cast as Slim, andOnce and Again actor Billy Campbell was cast as Mitch, a "wealthy contractor" and Slim's abusive husband.[5] Juliette Lewis, Noah Wyle, Dan Futterman and Fred Ward were also announced to be co-starring in the film.[3] According to Basham, filming began on May 21, 2001, and took place on location in Los Angeles, San Francisco,Port Townsend and Seattle.[5] During a documentary featured on a special edition DVD of the film, Kazan said Lopez was "very good" at creating the character on the film "through unscripted details, physical gestures and fiddling with props." He described her emotional acting as "perfect pitch".[6] Apted, who had heard rumors that Lopez was a diva, described her as "fantastic" and good to work with.[6] He also noted Lopez was "very much on the case, and that was very impressive."[6]
In 2008, Lopez revealed that during the filming ofEnough, she overworked and had anervous breakdown: "I was suffering from a lack of sleep. And I did have a kind of nervous breakdown. I froze up on set. Well, not on a set, but in my trailer. I was like, I don't want to move, I don't want to talk, I don't want to do anything. It was on that movie,Enough. Yeah, I did. I had a nervous breakdown."[7]
Enough is a thriller film that details an abusive relationship.[8] Its writer Nicholas Kazan commented, "About the worst aspect of the male psyche is that males have been taught, traditionally, to expect to get what they want. Much of the problems that men have, or the problems that men impose on women, have to do with feeling like they're entitled, and that women should do what men want."[6] Ryan J. Downey ofMTV News wrote, "Is America ready to see its favorite iced-up, well-manicured diva, Jennifer Lopez, all glammed-down and kicking ass as a battered wife?"[9]
Explaining the concept of the film, Lopez stated: "There's twists and turns and it's exciting ... but it also has a message, which is what attracted me to it in the first place, which is an empowering thing." Describing its message, she said "[If] you're in these negative situations, negative relationships, whatever, you can get out ... The power to get out of those things is always within yourself. That's the message of the movie."[9] When Lopez read the script, she knew she was "going to have to do [the] whole sequence at the end" which featured an act that required her to "become a believable lean, mean fighting machine."[9]
Lopez then thought she should learntai chi ortaekwondo, but was worried about learning it at an expert level in a short time.[9] Her trainer then suggested that she study Krav Maga, which, according to MTV News, is the "official self-defense system of theIsraeli Defense Forces which has recently become trendy in the States. The fighting style focuses on combating realistic scenarios with moves that are based on common, instinctual reactions."[9] Talking about the system, Lopez said: "[Krav Maga] levels out the playing field between men and women ... Where it doesn't matter how big or tall or strong you are. You can actually maneuver around that. It's about getting out of the way, counter-attacking and using whatever you can to get the upper hand."[9]
During an interview with Lopez, discussing the resolution of the film, journalistDiane Sawyer ofABC News noted that people "in the abuse counseling industry have said: you can't tell women that; they can't do that. That's something that's dangerous, even to see it in their minds."[10] Lopez responded: "...this is a movie that touches upon those themes, but really, it's a thriller ... it's about empowering yourself in any situation ... that you have. When I read the script, I saw it as: you have the power within yourself, no matter how severe the situation can be, to change whatever that is, to find that power within yourself to change any negative situation."[10]
Enough was planned to be released in September 2001, but was pushed back to "early" 2002.[5] It was released on May 24, 2002.[11] With a production budget of $38 million, its first run grossed $40 million domestically and a total of $51.8 million worldwide.[2] After its opening week,Enough ranked at No. 5 on the AmericanBox Office chart, grossing over $14 million screened across 2,623 theaters.[11] The next week, it grossed $6.8 million, dropping to No. 7 at the box office, and grossed $3.7 million after its third week, falling to No. 9.[11]
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment releasedEnough onDVD on October 8, 2002. This release came with the film in widescreen 2.40:1 and fullscreen 1.33:1, as well as the film's theatrical trailer and the music video for "Alive", performed by Lopez for the film's soundtrack.[12][13] AVHS edition was released on March 4, 2003. A special edition DVD was released on September 16, 2003. It comes with a range of extras which includes three deleted scenes: "Strip Joint Break In", "Enough Is Enough" and "Krav Maga: Contact Combat", as well as featurettes that detail the making of the film. The previous DVD's extras were also included.[6]
During a "making-of" documentary for the film entitled "Max on the Set: Enough" Lopez stated she was attracted toEnough because it was "like a female Rocky".[6] Cynthia Fuchs fromPopMatters wrote an in-depth review of the special edition DVD release and said: "Just why this film needs a second DVD release is unclear, except for the apparentdiktat that there is no such thing as enough or even too muchJ-Lo".[6]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 22% based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Enough exploits the serious issue of spousal abuse to make an illogical, unintelligent thriller."[14] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 25 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[15] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[16]
Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times said Lopez "holds the screen in a star performance that has less to do with acting than with embodying a forceful, streetwise woman who stands up for herself", while commenting that its preview had "audience gasping" and "Enough does a better job than most movies of sustaining a mood of palpable physical menace, then confirming your worst fears".[17] Alice King ofEntertainment Weekly described the film's plot as "arduously nonsensical" and felt that Lopez lacked connection with her on-screen daughter Tessa Allen, commenting that: "All this to protect a helium-voiced little girl with whom Lopez has so little chemistry, it's as if she's handling garbage rather than a small child."[18]
Blake French fromContactmusic.com was underwhelmed with the development of the film, and was critical that the film does not use Slim's old friend and romantic interest enough, nor does it develop Slim's real and adopted father figures while it "uses the tiresome old 'kid' cliché. Gracie is, as always, just old enough to understand the situation, but not quite old enough to make an actual impact in the story."[19] French did praise Lopez in the end sequence, "By the final scenes, despite their obviousness, I was as engrossed in the movie as I could have been, actually rooting for J. Lo to kick some bad guy butt".[19]
Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Lopez has an image of being sexy and tough, but her appeal as an actress is that she's down to earth and that her emotions are accessible. There's nothing cold about her." Additionally, LaSalle felt that "It's the most tension-producing movie out there right now", stating that "it has the biggest visceral kick, capable of inspiring blood lust in otherwise peaceful viewers.[20]
ReelViews'James Berardinelli saidEnough is director "[Michael] Apted at his most commercial, and, unfortunately, his least compelling."[21]Michael Atkinson ofThe Village Voice called Campbell the film's "primary power source", "His steely gaze and overbearing quietude are forever tainted;Enough doesn't stand a chance inLifetime reruns".[22]
Robert Koehler ofVariety was negative: "Enough, a thriller detailing how a good wife gets back at an evil, possessive husband, is never provocative enough to generate strong emotional response."[23]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times wrote howEnough was fundamentally similar to the 1978 exploitation flickI Spit on Your Grave "in which a man victimizes a woman for the first half of the film, and then the woman turns the tables in an extended sequence of graphic violence." Ebert also added: "It's surprising to see a director like Michael Apted and an actress like Jennifer Lopez associated with such tacky material."[24]
Paula Nechack of theSeattle Post-Intelligencer calledEnough "implausible and ugly" and felt that it had already been done by actresses includingJulia Roberts andAshley Judd, and its script was "more than enough of a mess to tarnish her box-office luster."[25]
Maitland McDonagh ofTV Guide reviewed the film negatively, but praised the ending sequence, "If ever a movie was undermined by its packaging, it's this formulaic thriller about a resourceful battered wife and the brutal husband who won't let her go ... the entire promotional campaign is driven by the last 20 minutes, in which Slim becomes a lean, mean fighting machine and kicks the bastard's ass".[26]
Nathan Rabin ofThe A.V. Club said "the film's idiocy works for Lopez: Every diva needs at least one camp classic on her résumé".[27] Desson Thomson fromThe Washington Post emphasized his disappointment with the film, stating: "In terms of actual social conscience, the movie gets a demagogic, rabble-rousing F. It also gets a failed grade for honest writing."[28]
In retrospect the film has been viewed more positively. It has been called "an underrated thriller" and ranked among Lopez best films.[29][30][31]
Jennifer Lopez was nominated for aGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performance in the film (as well as forMaid in Manhattan) but lost in a tie to bothMadonna forSwept Away andBritney Spears forCrossroads.[32][33]
| Enough | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | June 4, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
| David Arnold chronology | ||||
| ||||
The official score forEnough was composed byDavid Arnold, and released byAudio CD on June 4, 2002.[34] In addition to its score, Lopez recorded the song entitled "Alive", which she co-wrote with her then-husbandCris Judd. Although it served as the song's soundtrack and was used during the film, it does not appear on the film's score.[35]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Give Me a Sign" | 5:23 |
| 2. | "F.B.I.?" | 4:40 |
| 3. | "New Leaf" | 1:44 |
| 4. | "Will The Real Slim Hiller Please Stand Up?" | 2:03 |
| 5. | "Get Out of the House" | 7:15 |
| 6. | "Goodbye Gracie" | 1:43 |
| 7. | "Training Day" | 3:11 |
| 8. | "Breaking In" | 2:23 |
| 9. | "Setting the Trap" | 5:42 |
| 10. | "Fight club" | 8:50 |
| 11. | "One of the Lucky Ones" | 1:37 |
| Total length: | 44:31 | |
