Single White Female
3.5/4
Starring: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman, Stephen Tobolowsky
Rated R for Strong Sexuality, Violence and Language
We like to think of our homes as our own. They're a place of safety where we can go to relax and recharge our batteries after dealing with the rough outside world. But how do you survive when that sense of safety is gone?
After Allison Jones (Fonda) discovers that her fiancee Sam (Weber) has cheated on her with his ex-wife, she throws him out. Her friend Graham (Friedman, sounding a lot like John Heard) tells her that she does not need a man in her life and is well-equipped to achieve her dreams on her own. Still, the thought of living alone is depressing, so she puts an ad out for a roommate. After interviewing all the freaks and losers, she chooses the last applicant, Hedra "Hedy" Carlson (Leigh). Hedy is shy and sensitive, but handy around the house. The two of them become close, as girlfriends are wont to do. But Allie is starting to notice things about her new roommate that unsettle her. Some, like buying the same clothes, is relatively harmless. Others, like getting the same haircut and hair color, are creepy. But when Allie lets Sam back into her life, Hedy goes from being meek and awkward to being possessive and downright psychotic.
What makes "Single White Female" so frightening is that it taps into our fear of being trapped with someone we fear. Inevitably, there's going to be a little friction with two people living in the same place, but when you're living in the same place with a person who is growing more disturbing by the day with no way to get them out, it becomes stressful and violating. Director Barbet Schroeder taps into this fear in a very real way. Consider how angry Hedy gets when Allie spends the night at Sam's place without calling to check in. "You're making me feel like I'm 16 years old here," Allie tells her.
The performances are perfect. Bridget Fonda was given the choice of either playing Allison or Hedy, and she chose Allie because she felt it was the more complicated part. After watching her here, it's impossible to imagine her as Hedy. She's the consummate professional New Yorker, but unlike the stereotype, she's not a rude person who couldn't give a desperate man the time of day. "You're too nice," Hedy tells her after her boss (Tobolowsky) sexually assaults her. Fonda plays the character with the right mixture of vulnerability and strength to make her real and sympathetic.
As the increasingly unstable Hedy, Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a fantastically creepy performance. It's not just the way the character is written by Don Roos (the screenplay is excellent) or how she says her lines. Leigh reveals a lot about Hedy through her body language. Depending on the situation, she can be shy, scared or angry. She doesn't react to situations as normal people would; there's something childlike in her mannerisms (she bites her lip a lot and at drags her hand across her face like a toddler when she's embarrassed) and how possessive and needy she feels towards Allie. Hedy is a very real character, and that's what makes her so frightening.
The three members of the supporting cast are also top notch, but like most movies of this ilk ("Fear," "Fatal Attraction," "Misery," "Devil's Pond," "Bad Influence," etc), this is really a two character piece. Peter Friedman is a good ear and problem solver for Allie as her gay neighbor upstairs. Stephen Tobolowsky is surprisingly good; known for playing terminally nerdy characters ("Groundhog Day," "Sneakers," etc), the goofy looking character actor is quite effective as Allie's lecherous boss. Steven Weber is the weak link. As Sam, he's effective, but not standout.
Director Barbet Schroeder directs this film with a sure hand for atmosphere, and until the very end, pacing. Hitchcock is clearly an influence, but the film bears a stronger resemblance to Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby." The building is similar to the one in Polanski's classic, and so are the interiors. His cinematographer Luciano Tovoli makes good use of space. In the beginning, the shots are wider, making the apartment seem bigger and more vacant. As the film goes on, the shots become tighter and the apartment seems smaller and more cramped. Editor Lee Percy does something similar with the rate of the cuts; the longer the film goes on, the quicker the cuts. Both of these are key to increasing the tension to nearly unbearable levels.
But Schroeder remembers the key to making a superior entry into the "stranger within" genre (which, if you haven't figured it out yet, is what this movie really is): character development. He takes time to establish the characters and nurture the chemistry between Allie and Hedy. Fonda and Leigh have good chemistry as friends and, more importantly, as enemies. We feel what we're supposed to feel because we understand and believe in the characters and their relationship.
The film stumbles in the final act. Although it has a superior level of psychological tension and the climax is terrifying, it takes too long to get there. There's a little too much talking and planning as the film goes into its inevitable standoff. It's still very suspenseful because of the Hitchcockian element (I personally would have loved to see what Hitch would have done with this story), but the tension that had been growing for the better part of an hour flatlines. It doesn't grow again until the climax.
Of the top three entries in this genre, the king is still "Fear." Both "Fatal Attraction" and "Single White Female" are excellent entries into the genre, but this one narrowly comes in at number two because of its claustrophobia and the visceral tension. For lovers of pure, undiluted terror, this is a must see.
Starring: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman, Stephen Tobolowsky
Rated R for Strong Sexuality, Violence and Language
We like to think of our homes as our own. They're a place of safety where we can go to relax and recharge our batteries after dealing with the rough outside world. But how do you survive when that sense of safety is gone?
After Allison Jones (Fonda) discovers that her fiancee Sam (Weber) has cheated on her with his ex-wife, she throws him out. Her friend Graham (Friedman, sounding a lot like John Heard) tells her that she does not need a man in her life and is well-equipped to achieve her dreams on her own. Still, the thought of living alone is depressing, so she puts an ad out for a roommate. After interviewing all the freaks and losers, she chooses the last applicant, Hedra "Hedy" Carlson (Leigh). Hedy is shy and sensitive, but handy around the house. The two of them become close, as girlfriends are wont to do. But Allie is starting to notice things about her new roommate that unsettle her. Some, like buying the same clothes, is relatively harmless. Others, like getting the same haircut and hair color, are creepy. But when Allie lets Sam back into her life, Hedy goes from being meek and awkward to being possessive and downright psychotic.
What makes "Single White Female" so frightening is that it taps into our fear of being trapped with someone we fear. Inevitably, there's going to be a little friction with two people living in the same place, but when you're living in the same place with a person who is growing more disturbing by the day with no way to get them out, it becomes stressful and violating. Director Barbet Schroeder taps into this fear in a very real way. Consider how angry Hedy gets when Allie spends the night at Sam's place without calling to check in. "You're making me feel like I'm 16 years old here," Allie tells her.
The performances are perfect. Bridget Fonda was given the choice of either playing Allison or Hedy, and she chose Allie because she felt it was the more complicated part. After watching her here, it's impossible to imagine her as Hedy. She's the consummate professional New Yorker, but unlike the stereotype, she's not a rude person who couldn't give a desperate man the time of day. "You're too nice," Hedy tells her after her boss (Tobolowsky) sexually assaults her. Fonda plays the character with the right mixture of vulnerability and strength to make her real and sympathetic.
As the increasingly unstable Hedy, Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a fantastically creepy performance. It's not just the way the character is written by Don Roos (the screenplay is excellent) or how she says her lines. Leigh reveals a lot about Hedy through her body language. Depending on the situation, she can be shy, scared or angry. She doesn't react to situations as normal people would; there's something childlike in her mannerisms (she bites her lip a lot and at drags her hand across her face like a toddler when she's embarrassed) and how possessive and needy she feels towards Allie. Hedy is a very real character, and that's what makes her so frightening.
The three members of the supporting cast are also top notch, but like most movies of this ilk ("Fear," "Fatal Attraction," "Misery," "Devil's Pond," "Bad Influence," etc), this is really a two character piece. Peter Friedman is a good ear and problem solver for Allie as her gay neighbor upstairs. Stephen Tobolowsky is surprisingly good; known for playing terminally nerdy characters ("Groundhog Day," "Sneakers," etc), the goofy looking character actor is quite effective as Allie's lecherous boss. Steven Weber is the weak link. As Sam, he's effective, but not standout.
Director Barbet Schroeder directs this film with a sure hand for atmosphere, and until the very end, pacing. Hitchcock is clearly an influence, but the film bears a stronger resemblance to Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby." The building is similar to the one in Polanski's classic, and so are the interiors. His cinematographer Luciano Tovoli makes good use of space. In the beginning, the shots are wider, making the apartment seem bigger and more vacant. As the film goes on, the shots become tighter and the apartment seems smaller and more cramped. Editor Lee Percy does something similar with the rate of the cuts; the longer the film goes on, the quicker the cuts. Both of these are key to increasing the tension to nearly unbearable levels.
But Schroeder remembers the key to making a superior entry into the "stranger within" genre (which, if you haven't figured it out yet, is what this movie really is): character development. He takes time to establish the characters and nurture the chemistry between Allie and Hedy. Fonda and Leigh have good chemistry as friends and, more importantly, as enemies. We feel what we're supposed to feel because we understand and believe in the characters and their relationship.
The film stumbles in the final act. Although it has a superior level of psychological tension and the climax is terrifying, it takes too long to get there. There's a little too much talking and planning as the film goes into its inevitable standoff. It's still very suspenseful because of the Hitchcockian element (I personally would have loved to see what Hitch would have done with this story), but the tension that had been growing for the better part of an hour flatlines. It doesn't grow again until the climax.
Of the top three entries in this genre, the king is still "Fear." Both "Fatal Attraction" and "Single White Female" are excellent entries into the genre, but this one narrowly comes in at number two because of its claustrophobia and the visceral tension. For lovers of pure, undiluted terror, this is a must see.
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