Year of Release: 1992
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bridget Fonda, Steven Weber, Stephen Tobolowski, Peter Friedman, Frances Bay,
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:
French based director Barbet Schroeder started his American directorial career with "Barfly", and quickly established himself with the great "Reversal of Fortune". "Single White Female" was his first big commercial success, written by the talented Don Roos (who would go on to write and direct "The Opposite of Sex" and "Happy Endings"). The film follows the story of Allison Jones, a young woman living in NY, who is currently engaged and about to start her own business (she's a software designer). She finds out her fiancée had a fling with his ex-wife, and decides to cancel all the plans they had together. Due to the new circumstances, she decides to place an add for a roommate. She settles on a quiet and somewhat shy, Hedra Carlson. She quickly learns Hedra had a twin who died when she was a child, and that is an event who scarred her life. The two quickly bond, and Hedy becomes increasingly obsessed with Allie, getting her a dog, and deflecting all attempts of communication her ex-fiancée tries to establish. When Allie and Sam decide to reunite, that causes Hedy to become increasingly territorial and jealous. She decides to stop at nothing to keep Allie all to herself.
Barbet Schroeder manages to illustrate Don Roo's screenplay with a certain flair and aplomb. The relationship between the central characters is slowly built, and while initially there's an air of complicity between both women, they both relish the relationship established for different reasons. At first glance, Allison appreciates the company, devotion and attention Hedra gives her, particularly since she's feeling somewhat fragile following a break up, while for Hedra the relationship is quite different, more of an opportunity to recapture something she lost in the past. When their paths go in different directions, that's precisely where the unbalance from Hedra's behavior starts manifesting itself, and the script takes her in the direction of a psychotic individual, someone who will stop at nothing to get that idyllic relationship she created in her own mind, a reality. Much like Adrian Lynne's "Fatal Attraction", and the central Alex Forrest character, the script loses some of its nuance and power, by making Hedra more of a typical movie villain, as opposed to someone who manipulated, but was also used and equally manipulated in a relationship. There's definitely room for other explorations in this film, but the filmmaking team approached it more from a "Dark Half" type of concept, where Hedra is consumed by her affection, and destroys anything in her path. Both central performances are great, with Bridget Fonda at the time cementing her popularity (she had also done Cameron Crowe's "Singles" and previously Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part III"), and Jennifer Jason Leigh further establishing herself as the tremendous talent she was already known to be (following her roles in George Armitage's "Miami Blues" and Uli Edel's "Last Exit to Brooklyn"). The production team on this film is superb, including the cinematography from Luciano Tovoli, the score from Howard Shore and costumes & production design from acclaimed Milena Canonero. An entertaining film from an interesting director.
Barbet Schroeder manages to illustrate Don Roo's screenplay with a certain flair and aplomb. The relationship between the central characters is slowly built, and while initially there's an air of complicity between both women, they both relish the relationship established for different reasons. At first glance, Allison appreciates the company, devotion and attention Hedra gives her, particularly since she's feeling somewhat fragile following a break up, while for Hedra the relationship is quite different, more of an opportunity to recapture something she lost in the past. When their paths go in different directions, that's precisely where the unbalance from Hedra's behavior starts manifesting itself, and the script takes her in the direction of a psychotic individual, someone who will stop at nothing to get that idyllic relationship she created in her own mind, a reality. Much like Adrian Lynne's "Fatal Attraction", and the central Alex Forrest character, the script loses some of its nuance and power, by making Hedra more of a typical movie villain, as opposed to someone who manipulated, but was also used and equally manipulated in a relationship. There's definitely room for other explorations in this film, but the filmmaking team approached it more from a "Dark Half" type of concept, where Hedra is consumed by her affection, and destroys anything in her path. Both central performances are great, with Bridget Fonda at the time cementing her popularity (she had also done Cameron Crowe's "Singles" and previously Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part III"), and Jennifer Jason Leigh further establishing herself as the tremendous talent she was already known to be (following her roles in George Armitage's "Miami Blues" and Uli Edel's "Last Exit to Brooklyn"). The production team on this film is superb, including the cinematography from Luciano Tovoli, the score from Howard Shore and costumes & production design from acclaimed Milena Canonero. An entertaining film from an interesting director.
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