Single White Female

Single White Female

It's a psychotic thriller about loss, human fragility and the twisted games that could come out of a disturbed mind. It all begins when Allison Jones (played by Brigit Fonda) rents a room in her apartment, after breaking up with her boyfriend, to a girl called Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), someone she didn't know. In the beginning everything was being OK but suddenly she starts finding out some strange things about her... and the troubles begin... This thriller has some good suspense scenes and a nice plot, but I was expecting a little more of it. I had already seen it some years ago, and at that time I did like it, as I did now, but it seemed to be a little better at that first time. Today I enjoyed it but found it nothing special, nothing too much above average; especially if we take count on its final disclosure. I think it could have been much better. I was thinking score it 7/10, mainly because of the plot, but after remember that standard and unsatisfying ending I can't score it more than a 6/10.

Formulaic, formulaic… yeah it's routine Hollywood psycho-thriller territory, but too visually well made by director Barbet Schroeder and comfortably performed in the shape of Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh to not get something out of it. The story (adapted off John Lutz's novel "SWF Seeks Same") plays its cards quite early, and goes about the subject in a too convenient manner to make it entirely effective. Quite a slow build-up and many sub-plots stem off the central plot, as we watch Leigh's character's twitchy transformation suddenly grow and form the basis of the early groundwork that would eventually unsettle Fonda's fragile character. A resourceful Schroeder sure does a brilliant job with many artistic flourishes, and inspired gimmick set-pieces where you just can't help but admire Luciano Tovoli's lyrically smooth cinematography. However trying to register the suspense, became hard due to leading us down the same old path of cheap clichéd jolts and shinny techniques. Although the potent climax goes over-board, it's particularly heart-pounding and downright exciting. There's nothing overtly tame about it, with its seamless nudity and tantalizing sex, and a wicked death here and there. But it's all tastefully done. Howard Shore's sumptuously airy musical score feeds off the well used location and compact sets (especially that of the stark Victorian apartment building) that are very ideal to the film's progression. In the two leads, a gorgeous Fonda is terrific and Leigh's needly attachable turn is one of confidence. The chemistry works, and when it comes to it they sure do look like each other. Talk about eerie. There's also solid support by Steven Weber, Peter Friedman and Stephen Tobolowsky.

This is a tense thriller about an obsessive woman who becomes too enthralled in someone else's life, and even gets herself mixed up in lies, deceit and other bad activities, and the cycle of problems just gets more momentum. The basic plot is that Allison (Bridget Fonda) gets a roommate for her Manhattan apartment (has anyone ever seen an apartment this large in NYC??) after her skirt-crazy live-in lover Sam (played by "Wings" star Steven Weber) runs around on her. It's Headra "Hedy" (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the rescue! This is one of my favorite suspense films. The setting is amazing, an old spooky apartment building but a gorgeous sparsely furnished apartment within. There really isn't a lot of violence in this movie, mainly just at the end. It's a good suspense movie, though, which builds and builds. The film is stylish, thanks to Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) cinematography. Fonda and Leigh give strong performances in this movie. This is an underrated thriller, which is surprisingly clever movie. Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Tasteless piece of Grand Guignol from Barbet Schroeder, a director who should've known better. Independent New York businesswoman Bridget Fonda, having just broken up with her fiancé, advertises for a female roommate and feels an immediate kinship with Jennifer Jason Leigh, a straggly, down-to-earth young applicant who may not be exactly what she seems. Film begins with razor-like precision, including an eerie prologue, but becomes increasingly outlandish, queasy, predictable and ridiculous as the plot thickens. By the overbaked finale, with Fonda swinging down from the rafters, the movie has all but imploded, leaving a depressing pile-up of bodies in its wake. *1/2 from ****

This film was such a wasted few hours of my life. The plot was absolutely terrible. An obsessive lesbian-esquire stalker girl who destroys her flatmates life? To begin with, the whole my fiancé cheated with his ex-wife beginning was terrible. You pray and pray for her to just dump him, because honestly, why would you take such scum back? and then she does? Well, I honestly had no sympathy for her after that. The back story for Leighs character was weak, and why she would choose weak and pathetic Fonda's character to obsess over, I really don't know. I cheered when Fonda's fiancé was killed, and ended up hating both Leigh and Fonda's pitiful characters. The film was far too focused on sex, and it was far too male orientated erotica. To sum up, the film was poorly executed, think made for TV movie.

I first saw this in the cinema many years ago and enjoyed it enough to buy it when it came out on video. While I don't rate it as highly as when I first saw it I still think it is a good film, mainly due to the quality of the two lead actresses, especially Jennifer Jason Leigh who seems to be excellent in everything I've seen her in. Bridget Fonda plays Allison Jones who learns that her fiancé has cheated on her with his ex-wife. She ends the relationship but doesn't want to live alone so puts an advert in the newspaper for a flatmate. Out of the applicants she chooses Hedra 'Hedy' Carlson a mousy girl played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, at first she seems like the ideal choice but things start to go wrong when it appears that Allie and her fiancé are getting back together. Hedy is determined to keep them apart, at the same time she starts to dress like Allie and even changes her hair style and colour to match. Things soon spiral out of control leading to a violent confrontation between Allie and Hedy. There is also a sub-plot about Allie's work involving a client who sexually harasses her then fails to pay for her services. Even though I ticked the "Contains Spoilers" box I have tried to keep them to a minimum as a thriller won't be very thrilling if you know too much. As mentioned before, the acting is good and the plot is fairly plausible till the climax when it becomes a fairly standard confrontation between the two protagonists. There isn't too much violence and what there is isn't all that graphic, there is however a fair amount of sexual content and nudity which I suppose some viewers might feel uncomfortable with.

SINGLE WHITE FEMALE belongs to a series of movies I call the "From Hell" films, thrillers which were popular in the late 80s and early 90s. They include FATAL ATTRACTION (1987), with Glenn Close as the adultress from hell, CAPE FEAR (1991), with Robert DeNiro as the ex-convict from hell, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE (1992), with Rebecca DeMornay as the baby-sitter from hell, BASIC INSTINCT (1992), with Sharon Stone as the suspect from hell, and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992), with Jennifer Jason Leigh as the roommate from hell, among others. But don't get me wrong, this is not a negative review. The movie has more stylish touches than you might expect from a film of this sort, and the first hour or so is terrific. Leigh and Bridget Fonda make a great pair and deliver solid performances. My only quibble is the slasher ending, but you can't really expect this type of film to end any other way; at least the killer does not wake up from the dead over and over. A box office hit back in the summer of 1992, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE is well worth the watch.

Another movie with great potential. The film unfolds almost perfectly and you find yourself in a tense and deep psychological thriller (no spoilers to the plot). But then, the director chooses the easy way and we have a usual ending with mostly unrealistic situations and splatter sequences (ouch this dragging scene with the head bump at the elevator step must have hurt!).

Single White Female is directed by Barbet Schroeder and adapted to screenplay by Don Roos from the novel "SWF Seeks Same" written by John Lutz. It stars Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman and Stephen Tobolowsky. Music is by Howard Shore and cinematography by Luciano Tovoli. When it's revealed that her partner Sam (Weber) has been cheating on her with his ex-wife, Allie Jones (Fonda) kicks him out of the apartment and advertises for a female roommate. She chooses Hedra Carlson (Leigh), who on the surface seems to be the perfect roommate. Smoothly helping Allie through her crisis, a real friendship is formed, but it's not long before Hedra starts to exhibit some dark behaviour patterns….. The early 90s saw the "Woman from Hell" back in vogue in mainstream cinema. After the success and publicity of Fatal Attraction (1987), there was a period where you feel that sensible film makers wisely chose to let that particular film disappear from the film lovers memory banks. As it happens, they must have collectively chose 5 years as the cooling off period. For 1992 saw a wave of mad female on the loose pictures released. Led by the publicity gobbling Basic Instinct, films such as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Single White Female put bums on cinema seats and reopened the "Mad Bitch" sub-genre. Of the three, Single White Female grossed the least, which is strange since it's a better movie than the other two. Schroeder's (Barfly/Reversal of Fortune) movie isn't a complete success, there's not enough development of the main characters and there's some unintentionally funny moments. But when it's good it's real good. Reeling off a number of memorable and often chilling scenes, film is further boosted by the psychological smarts in Roos' (Boys on the Side) screenplay. It helps that Schroeder has a knack for pacing, too, where he neatly simmers the plot until the spill over for the big finale. No disappointment there either, a good combination of genre staples is enhanced in impact by some unexpected character developments, and there's moments of genuine suspense to lure the viewer to the edge of their seat. It's also stylishly shot by Schroeder and Tovoli (Suspiria/Tenebrae). Allie's Upper West Side apartment is imposing and expansive, with high ceilings, old time plumbing, a clunky lift and a dingy laundry in the basement. It's a different set-up for such a thriller, no picket fence harmony house or beach side residence, this is bustling New York, big spaces, but as it turns out, that means no hiding place. The boys behind the cameras get the maximum they can from the locale by blending imposing and ominous with grainy veneer and filtered light. On the acting front, the girls put great effort into making their thinly developed characters work, with Leigh doing a good line in progressive instability. While Friedman, Weber and a wonderfully naughty Tobolowsky, make the most of their secondary roles. One or two obvious flaws aside, this still rounds out as a thoroughly enjoyable thriller. 7.5/10