User reviews

LIVING WITH THE ENEMY

A kid is using the computers at a library. He is then killed outside, in a hit-and-run. Who was he? What was he doing? Why was he using an anonymous computer to do it? And who would want to kill him for it?

At a technology conference, Allison Conner (played by Sarah Lancaster) is trying to get her boss, Bev Wallach, (played by Maxim Roy) a meeting with tech billionaire, Phillip Lauder (played by Mark Humphrey). Allison is having no luck, until she meets a mysterious, handsome man while jogging. He says his name is "Paul," but she soon discovers he is Phillip Lauder. He proceeds to sweep her off her feet, but is he to good to be true?

Philip wants to recruit a hacker named Carl Branch (played by Max Kubiak), but Branch thinks 'Cobalt', (Lauder's company) is evil, and wants to start his own company. He's then knifed to death in an alley. What's the connection?

AFTER they're married, Allison googles her now husband (yes, I said after), and finds out his previous wife was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, even after Philip paid a 50 million dollar ransom. She's also surprised by all the security and precautions. Why didn't he tell her? Shouldn't she now be suspicious?

She meets her irascible "sister-in-law" Tanya (played by Susan Glover), who supposedly used to work at Cobalt until she burned out, and now runs Philip's stables. She's less than friendly, and tells Allison, the staff is here to serve you, not be your friend. She's clearly trying to isolate Allison, but why?

The FBI "kidnaps" Allison, to tell her, Monique (Philip's first wife who was kidnapped and killed) was using info she'd obtained about Cobalt to get out of her pre-nup. Then she ended up dead. They want Allison to get dirt on her husband, and they threaten her with prosecution if she doesn't.

WHAT WORKS: *Sarah Lancaster as Allison Conner Lauder does a good job of playing the naive girl from Idaho. They take her naivete too far, but she embodies the character well.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *I get whirlwind romances, but it's very hard to believe that after 1 jogging date, 1 regular date, and a roll in the hay, that a billionaire would propose to basically a total stranger. He would need time to check her out, and get a prenup etc. It's also very hard to believe that she wouldn't think he's damaged in some way by moving this fast. I wouldn't be saying this if they had shown a montage of them together for a week or two. But proposing marriage after 48 hours is not believable on either side, no matter what his alternative motives are, or how naive she is.

*She waits to Google her husband until after they're married? She's surprised by all the security precautions, or the fact that the head of a billion dollar tech company would be gone a lot? This is supposed to be believable? This girl got a full ride scholarship, and was going to graduate Suma, but we're supposed to believe she's this air headed?

*The FBI "kidnaps" Allison. They throw her into a van, and drive her to a parking garage. I don't believe the FBI would do anything that stupid, they would approach her another way. What if she'd had survival training, or a gun? Things could have turned bad fast, and would be embarrassing for them, if not downright illegal. They threaten her with "criminal charges", but then remind her she's only known him a month?! What CRIMINAL CHARGES?! RIDICULOUS! Side note: In many states, martial privilege is as sacrosanct as ecclesiastical privilege. It CANNOT be superceded, so this whole plot point is acinine.

*There's A LOT of deus ex machina here. Keys being found too easily, websites written down, just where Allison can find it, etc. ATTENTION WRITERS: There's a game called "Can You?" Can you write a better, MORE believable plot point? Write 10, and pick the best one, the most believable, DON'T take the easy way out.

TO RECOMMEND OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IT THE QUESTION: As Made-For-TV movies go, this is one I'd suggest you give a pass to. There are so many quality Made-For-TV movies, and vintage Movies-of-the-Week out there, there's no need to waste your time on this one.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

I saw this on Lifetime television, this was actually pretty good! Sarah Lancaster (wow, is she hot or what?), plays Allison, a simple girl who gets swept off her feet by the very rich Phillip Lauder. The more she finds out about him, the less perfect he seems.

Sarah was really good here, the scene of her in that little cap giving candy to Phillips chief security guy just had me at hello. I thought this was a good love story, cause they fell so quick and got married and then it seemed like nothing was for real. The plot twits keep you guessing, but not in the dark, and they actually remember things about their characters! Wow, somebody actually cared about making a good movie! The bad guys are cool, note Morgan Kelly, from TV's Falcon Beach, as the young thug.

While this seems obvious at times, it all makes sense in the final reel and Lancaster is just so nice to look it. Worth your time for a fun evening mystery.

Allison Conner (Sarah Lancaster) attends a conference with her boss Bev. She meets a nice guy in Phillip Lauder (Mark Humphrey) who turns out to be the multi-billionaire that Bev is trying to land. He quickly proposes. It's a big transition as she lives under her new husband's security. His previous wife Monique was kidnapped for ransom and killed. There seems to be more to the story. The FBI blackmails her to co-operate in their investigation into Phillip. More people are getting killed and suspicions are raised on all sides.

Like a lot of these movies, the production is not rich enough to portray a billionaire's life. As for the story itself, there are lots of questionable turns. The first odd note struck is Bev. I don't understand her feeling towards the new relationship unless she already knew something from the start. For normal business, Allison would be a great way to get in the door. There are strange occurrences like the FBI pulling her off the street throwing her into a van. It's done for drama but it's overly done. There are many things happening that are unreal. If security is so tight, Phillip would insists on a constant bodyguard for Allison. There are characters that I'm not sure who they are supposed to be. I know they work for the company but I'm not sure as what. The acting is fine for a TV movie. There are worst. The 'mystery' is functional enough to keep a small amount of interest.

Turned it off when the FBI agent told her she would be charged as an accomplice for the murder if she didn't help them. She didn't even know the victim or the husband. And you can't be forced to testify against your husband. Stupid story line.

Just wrote a worthy review only for to to disappear. I felt like i was watching an 1980s midday movie as an adaptation of a bad mills n boon novel. Every character predictable down to every word of dialogue. Nonsensical in that the wife had stable hand prep horse, almost got caught but created a distraction then ran off on foot?!??! Absolute garbage despite sort of ok acting, this movie is reserved for bored housewives while bub is taking their midday nap. I think after 5 minutes i could have written the remaining script myself. Yah it had a "twist" but that too was predictable and tedious. Sorry but if i marry a billionaire i am not interested in digging into his past who gives a flying.... enjoy the ride.

I could tell, within the first five minutes of this slop, that this was a Canadian drama.Cheap, lazy, stupid premise, crappy actors. That's what you get when government pays movie makers.

Airing on The Lifetime Channel as "Living with the Enemy" this film features Sarah Lancaster as a harried assistant who is swept off her feet by a techie billionaire. While adjusting to her new life - being the wife of a billionaire can be a tad stifling with the cars and bodyguards - the young bride discovers some nasty history behind her hubby's success. While some of the many twists and turns seemed a bit too convenient, there were enough of them that weren't too obvious so that I was entertained throughout. Overall, the movie makes for a nice evening. It kept me guessing - and staying tuned after each commercial break!

I was pleasantly pleased with the ending. I just saw this movie yesterday, and was going to turn it off, but changed my mind. It was not at all the direction I thought the story would end on. Thats about all positive I can say about this film. All of the actors are nobodys, especially the lead. While she is an attractive young woman, she'll never make it big. The writing, direction, and acting are wooded, sort of like what you would see on daytime soaps. The filming locations were very clever in making you think it could be anywhere, instead of blatantly tipping off it was in Canada. As this was shot entirely in Canada, I'm assuming the entire lot was Canadien, which is not entirely bad as some recent Canadien TV productions: "Cold Squad", "Stone; Underover" are quite well done.

Yes, dumb is the word for this actress. I know many have mentioned her beauty, but this viewer found her empty headed and boring to watch with her bleached hair, lip gloss, and not so perfect body. Watch her walk away in those jeans, showing a rather large butt. Her butt spreads beyond her shoulders. What does that tell you? As for the leading man, played by gorgeous Mark Humphrey, he was perfectly cast. A charmer. However, he and Lancaster just didn't match. She was out of place opposite this good looking guy. Good acting by Susan Glover as the sister. Angela Galuppo had a small role and was okay. But the film's director Philippe Gagnon, wasted too much footage on Lancaster. After a while you got tired of looking at her and watching her dull acting ability. And what a bitch of a wife she was. Snooping on her husband, being obnoxious to him and just a plain spoiled brat. Was happy to see her hit with the dart gun. I thought it might be the end of her. But alas, the script tells us otherwise. After torturing myself and watching this loser again, I still came up with the same criticism. Lancaster is boring to watch. This time around her hair, folks. Her hair constantly in her face, constantly tossing it back, became annoying. I question the writer, Alexandra Komisaruk's reason why a good looking wealthy man like Philippe would even bother with the likes of a bimbo like Allison. When there were so many attractive intelligent women, with class, to choose. He picks this nothing. Is this the Rochester/Jane Eyre thing? Oh well, it's all a matter of taste, I guess. This Sarah Lancaster is not my cup of tea, folks.

I think this was one of the best movies I've seen on TV in a long time. I disagree with those who think it was a waste of time and money. Sarah Lancaster is a very good actress and Mark Humphrey is a very good actor not to mention both are very sexy. I think they both were perfect for the parts they played in this movie. Mark Humphrey is one of the sexiest actors I've seen in a long time. I taped this movie and have watched it several times, that is how much I enjoyed it. It kept me guessing a lot, you don't know if Phillip is involved in any of the criminal activity until the last of the movie and you feel so sorry for Allison for getting into this situation especially because she is so in love with Phillip. I think this is definitely a movie worth watching.

I think to say that this movie should not be the last artifact of human civilization (though I appreciate the sense of humour), and that it is in a nutshell "a big shame" is to be grossly unfair. Again, to say all the cast is of nobodies takes our film desires and thinking back to kindergarten level.

If you would feel an actor in a movie is really a Somebody because he annihilated thousands of troops solo with an extra-terrestial firearm, or leap across 30-metre apart towers and such stuff in about five useless movies, then you need to grow up. Learn on the difference between raw publicity hype and sublime refinement in art.

Hardly any of us would judge a movie solely on the basis of it having well-known actors. Substance in acting, plot, direction, production and all that comes with that, is the name of the game.

And that the lead actress will never make it big oozes with empty political rhetoric, jealousy, and I wonder what making it big means to some people, and if it was in 1969 the last time they checked the showbiz kaleidoscope. Sarah Lancaster is as bankable as they come.

If the essential backbone of a film is a bin of litter, let it be so and comment on the quality of acting/cast separately. In most cases, the two will hardly occur in the abysmal, to make a worthless movie. One of the two is usually up to optimal quality.

I watched this movie two weekends ago, and as I missed a part of the beginning, I'm not in a position to authoritatively comment on the plot and whole storyline.

Then let's get one thing straight; if the aesthetic dimension of a role in a motion picture is a countable factor, then you've got to give it up to elegant Sarah Lancaster. She is the centerpiece of Living with the Enemy. I bet she positively influenced most viewers of the movie because of how radiantly she came out in the role. The tribulations of the innocent princess endeared her to the audience, and together with Mark Humphrey, the combination was good for dessert.

PS: And yes, she is hot.

"Living With The Enemy" is a modern Cinderella story gone horribly wrong. When a pretty and decent journalist accompanies her boss to interview a reclusive Bill Gates type, she gets more than she could ever have dreamed out of the initial encounter. But billion dollar fortunes aren't made on hugs, and the more the main character gets involved with this world, the more confusing things become for her until she doesn't know who to trust. I'm a big fan of thrillers and the evocative and balanced storytelling by writer Alexandra Komisaruk and Phillipe Gagnon in this film kept me guessing. A nice twist on the theme of, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Sarah Lancaster was a good choice for the lead - more depth than the usual heroine, with girl next door looks in some scenes and more sparkle in others. Overall, a good bet!

Quite a good TV movie that kept my interest throughout. There are good main characters and some of the supporting actors were also great. The story was very good and although I guessed the ending it was still executed well.

I wasn't going to watch this movie because of the low ratings but I'm glad I ignored the reviews and gave it a shot. I'm not going to say too much about the movie but please ignore the bad reviews and watch the movie. I don't start any Lifetime or LMN movie expecting too much but I will say that this one kinda had me stumped for a minute. The ending was a great little twist and I didn't see it coming which is very rare when watching these kind of movies. However, every now and then Lifetime/LMN will surprise you with a gem and this movie is one of those rare gems. It really didn't go the way I initially expected it to end and I'm glad I watched it.

A woman orphaned, who works for a shrew goes to a retreat eith her boss and meets amd gets engaged to a man who sweeps her off her feet. He's a widower. They honeymoon. Get back to his lavish estate and things take a turn to the dark about 40 minutes in. There is a sister instead of Mrs. Danvers that hates the new wife. There is a party.

Updated as there is tech.

A secret meeting with the FBI.

Bad guys.

The climax is quite good.

Sarah Lancaster of Chuck fame is really great in the role.

I even like the cabin and the main estate. It's very picturesque.

Daphne Du Maurier would maybe be amused.

Loved the movie, however would like to know why there are 4 different versions. I personally liked the 3rd version where Allison in the end did not look so completely distrusting, especially as Philip owned up to never having killed anyone. Also would have liked to see a reconciliation scene where the two of them allow their feelings to show for one another. Riding off in the sunlight was nice, but come on, think about it! After all that has happened to both of them don't you think a little more should have been offered. I would also have liked seeing Tanya packing and leaving. I noticed that this movie is not yet so sale through the 'Lifetime" network. Is it because out of the 4 versions, one has not yet be confirmed?