Enough, directed by Michael Apted, is a story of a mother who is on the run from an abusive husband. Slim Hiller, played by Jennifer Lopez, is a struggling waitress who meets the man of her dreams while working at the local diner. After a short amount of time, Slim and Mitch get married and their life seems to be perfect. Five years later and after giving birth to their daughter Gracie, Slim finds out that her husband is having an affair. She often catches Mitch staying out late with other woman and lying about the situation. When Slim confronts her husband about the affair he slaps her and punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground. Mitch continues to beat Slim and put Gracie in danger until her friends take matters into their own hands. Slim and Gracie attempt to escape with the help of her previous boyfriend, Joe and her friends from the diner. Her husband and a gang of men pursue her relentlessly, finding her no matter where she goes. Slim goes to all walks to escape her abusive husband, even cutting her hair and changing her name. After Mitch attempts to kill Slim and their daughter multiple times, she goes to her last resort. Ginny, Slim’s best friend, takes care of Gracie while Slim is forced to fight back against her husband. With the help of her father’s money, she takes self defense lessons and becomes mentally and physically unbeatable. After setting Mitch up, they engage in a physical and psychological battle. Slim shows her husband that she has had enough by beating him and ending their marriage by killing him. In the final scene of the movie, Slim is seen holding hands with her former boyfriend, Joe. She realized that there really was something out there that was better for her. She ended her husband’s life, but gave herself and her daughter the opportunity to live again.
The film Enough is both a drama and thriller. The movie keeps the audience in suspense throughout and often makes the viewers jump in fear. Viewers never know what is going to happen next and it keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. It is powerful to watch a film about a woman that goes from running for her life to being strong enough to fight back in her own defense. Jennifer Lopez gives an amazing performance as an action hero in the movie. The movie was well directed by Michael Apted and well thought out to add to the suspense. Billy Campbell, known as Mitch, portrays the perfect psychotic and abusive husband. His dark personality and attitude makes his character believable. Tessa Allen, also known as Gracie, is simply an innocent child that plays the perfect role of being full of fear. All aspects of the film were nicely put together to keep the audience in suspense and on their toes.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and thought it was a great story of a woman’s strength and power. Slim wanted a better life for her child and for herself. Most women that are in abusive relationships live their lives in fear and never settle for anything better. They often don’t tell friends or family and most importantly they often don’t report it to law enforcement because they are scared. In Slim’s case, her husband had all the money in the world to keep himself out of jail and on the streets. I found the movie extremely moving because it shows that men don’t always have the strength and power over a woman. I also found the film interesting because I am researching what causes men to become abusive and what possesses them to want to harm the people they apparently love. Enough showed that women across the country should take stand and remove themselves from abusive and harmful relationships when they really have had enough.