Single White Female (1992)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers (WGA):

John Lutz (novel)
Don Roos (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Allie's new roommate is about to borrow a few things without asking. Her clothes. Her boyfriend. Her life.

Plot:

When a 'Single White Female' places an ad in the press for a similar woman to rent a room (to replace the boyfriend she's just left)...

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Death | Puppy | Twins | Software

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Bridget Fonda	...	Allison 'Allie' Jones
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Hedra 'Hedy' Carlson
Steven Weber	...	Sam Rawson
Peter Friedman	...	Graham Knox
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Mitch Myerson
Frances Bay	...	Elderly Neighbor
Michele Farr	...	Myerson's Assistant
Tara Karsian	...	Mannish Applicant
Christiana Capetillo	...	Exotic Applicant
Jessica Lundy	...	Talkative Applicant
Renée Estevez	...	Perfect Applicant (as Rene Estevez)
Tiffany Mataras	...	Twin
Krystle Mataras	...	Twin
Amelia Campbell	...	Check Cashier
Kenneth Tobey	...	Desk Clerk (as Ken Tobey)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for violence and language.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Portugal:M/18 | New Zealand:R16 (re-rating) | New Zealand:RP13 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:R21

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Bridget Fonda had the choice of playing either the Allie role or the Hedy role. She ended up choosing to play Allie, because she said it was a harder role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Allison is strangled in the elevator, there is a small hole in her shirt where she was shot a couple minutes earlier, but no bloodstain. However a few minutes later a bloodstain appears and her arm is fully functional to fight Hedy.

Quotes:

Hedra Carlson: You know, identical twins are never really identical. There is always one that is prettier, and the other one does all the work.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Roseanne: Single Married Female (#7.18)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

STATE OF INDEPENDENCE

The promise is let down by a muddle of drama and action

After her partner moves out Allie Jones (Fonda) invites Hedra Carlson (Leigh) to move in, only Hedra has a few dark secrets and soon causes problems for her roommate.

The 1990's was a big step towards engaging actresses into more notable lead roles. Kathy Bates in Misery, Susan Sarandon and Gena Davis in Thelma and Louise and Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs turned many memorable Oscar winners and nominees in some fantastic pictures and the playing field seemed to generate more female stars who are still remembered today. So a year after Ridley Scott's dramatic Thelma and Louise picture in 1991 could Fonda and Leigh generate the same level of press attention and accolade? The premise was definitely there. The claustrophobic feel of the plot with a stalker of a room mate and obsession reflects the nature of Kathy Bates' character in Misery and the whole love and cheating concepts could easily merit those reflected in Scott's picture but this never materialized. We are left with some, what can only be described as dull and boring soap styled concepts. The whole 'my partner has left me and now I'm depressed' is as flat as a pancake and Leigh's inclusion, whilst initially spicing things up became equally dull.

What follows is a collection of mad antics by Leigh's awkward character and Fonda's struggling Allie. The pairing isn't too bad. There are some spicy moments that generate good drama and tension between the pair. The whole dog thing is a good reflection, as is the already mentioned stunning climax.

The direction by Schroeder is frequently muddled. From high shots to low shots and the inclusion of the odd tracking shots there is never a settling momentum to carry the picture through its dramatic stages. The final half an hour is well handled as the script notches up a gear into flowing momentum with a good final ending.

If you feel inclined to turn off after ten minutes then you can be forgiven as there is little to match your enthusiasm for this picture.

But if you get up to the inclusion of the dog then you may as well carry on as the final stages generate some stunning tension.

Single White Female is what you may call a wonderful promise that was horribly muddled. It's described as a dramatic thriller and the whole 'drama' part is evident throughout being soapier than a Dove product, but the thriller tag never is evident still the stunning climax that is great, but simply not justification of what we saw, and we are simply rolling our heads and imagining what could have been.