Enough: Slim Hilleryour Namebehs453 (Section) Movie Review

Enough

Plot Synopsis
Enough starts with a young waitress named Slim, who was won over by a customer who she soon married. The happy couple has a child named Gracie and moves into their picture perfect home. A few years later Slim finds out Mitch has been cheating with Darcelle and confronted him about it. He dismissed her concern telling her it means nothing and Slim threaten to leave. It is the point when Mitch goes from the perfect husband to the abusive one. He slaps her and punches her, telling her is she tries to leave he will kill her. Slim decides to leave one night and has her friends Ginny and Phil come and wait on her and Gracie to get out. Mitch wakes up and starts to beat Slim again. Her friends bust in and Phil wakes Gracie to stop Mitch and get the two out of the house.
Mitch is well-off and has many resources to haunt Slim. They run to Seattle to Slims old friend Joe where they can hide for a while. Mitch sends fake FBI agents to harass him and trash his place. The girls are protected in a wall grate and luckily are not found. Slims next stop is to visit her estranged father to ask for money. He denies her until Mitch’s men go to threaten him, and then he decides to involve himself. She buys a house and changes her name so that she and Gracie are safe for a while. Inevitably Mitch finds them, and Slim becomes tired of running. She trains to be able to fight a man and sends Gracie off with Ginny so she will be safe. Slim hides in Mitch’s new house and waits for him to return. There she attacks him and beats him at his own violent game. She kicks him off of his balcony, and he dies. When the authorities arrive, she claims self-defense and is not charged with his death.

Impact of domestic violence on character

Mitch exhibits the traditional dominate male characteristics. He has the money and resources as well as the mentality that the world should revolve around what he wants. Mitch felt that he was entitled to do whatever he wanted, including having a mistress, without having to answer to anyone. And the idea that someone would leave him made him angry and started the abuse. The fear of losing control of the individual is a trigger in domestic violence situations. He did not like the idea of being questioned nor the idea of losing control of his relationships. His symptoms are very stereotypical and having the resources to pursue his wife after she left just showed his need to be in control.

Theoretical explanations of domestic violence

The domestic violence in the film from a systems perspective addresses different theories. “Evidence that romance and violence coexist at some points in some relationships, combined with the complexity of interactions between partners, suggests that relationship characteristics may mediate the significance and interpretation given to violence both by the aggressor and the victim” (Rogers et al., 1996). The satisfaction of marriage is an example of a mediating variable. In the film, Mitch had different triggers for his domestic violence. It was nonexistent for a significant period until he was challenged by Slim. The theory that Mitch made the money and had the ability to make all decisions in the relationship was the theory that he based his actions on.
Mitch did not want his daughter seeing his abusive way, and his aggression was never aimed at her. Another theory by Margolin, “into whether aggression in the marriage is associated with specific parent-child communication patterns, represents an attempt to identify mechanisms linking family subsystems (i.e., couple and parent-child)” (Margolin et al., 1996). The theory shows that male aggression is directly related to patterns of rough parenting. Mitch’s mom saw Slim’s black eye and asked specifically what she did to anger him. She knew the pattern existed and that he was capable of acting in such a manner.

Intervention/Treatment

The pivotal point in the movie was where Slim had been found again by Mitch’s men and decided she no longer wanted to be afraid and run. The first intervention was when Phil and Ginny went to get Slim out of the house where Mitch was abusing her. The strategy for helping the character according to theories mentioned in the materials was the dominate character feels he can act in any capacity he chose. Wileman and Wileman (1995) “found that reductions in violence were associated with the man assuming responsibility for the change but even more so with the woman’s decreasing her vulnerability and taking an active role in balancing the power in the relationship.” Slim took control of her fear and vulnerability by fighting back against her controlling, and powerful husband.
The comprehensive treatment plan is taking responsibility for the situation. Two key criticisms involve, first, the implication that co-responsibility for the violence is “victim blaming” and, second, the safety concerns in conjoint modalities where the perpetrator and victim are in therapy together (Hansen, 1993). In the film, Slim tried to get away and start a new life, but he continually found her. She turned to many different resources including friends and family. Mitch was relentless with sending his people after her and harassing everyone around her. Therefore the treatment plan for Slim, was to fight back against Mitch and create a safe home for her and her daughter. He had taken everything from them, so the only option for their future was to take it back and to stop running.

Reference:

Enough [Motion picture]. (2002). Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
Hansen, M. (1993). Feminism and Family Therapy: A Review of Feminist Critiques of Approaches to Family Violence. In M. Hansen and M. Harway (eds.), Battering and Family Therapy: A Feminist Perspective. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, pp. 82-92.
Margolin, G., R.S. John, C.M. Ghosh and E.B. Gordis (1996). Family Interaction Process: An Essential Tool for Exploring Abusive Relations. In D.D. Cahn and S.A. Lloyd (eds.), Family Violence from a Communication Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 37-58.
Rogers, L.E., A. Castleton and S.A. Lloyd (1996). Relational Control and Physical Aggression in Satisfying Marital Relationships. In D.D. Cahn and S.A. Lloyd (eds.), Family Violence from a Communication Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 218-239.
Wileman, R. and B. Wileman (1995). Towards Balancing Power in Domestic Violence Relationships. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 16(4): 165-176