Single White Female
by Barbet Schroeder
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Actor: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Friedman, Stephen Tobolowsky, Steven WeberDirector: Barbet Schroeder
Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Cinematographer: Luciano Tovoli
Producer: Barbet Schroeder
Producer: Jack Baran
Producer: Roger Joseph Pugliese
Producer: Susan Hoffman
Writer: Don Roos
Writer: John Lutz
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-03-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Single White Female
DVD Review: SWF and the Anonymous Society
Summary: 5 Stars
While this movie is enjoyable due to the fine acting of both Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda, not to mention the supporting cast, other reviews have barely touched on what I think is a central subtext of the film: the fact that we live in an increasingly anonymous society, and this anonymity fills us with anxiety and loneliness.
This film was one of an entire genre of films of the late 1980's and early-mid 1990's which all had essentially the same theme - "You can't trust strangers".
Why did these films sweep the nation? Of course, from a purely business point of view, one successful film like "Basic Instinct" begets a series of imitators because the studio execs think they've found a formula for selling theatre seats and DVD's (or, formerly, videotapes).
But every once in awhile, a "formula" comes along which is highly successful because it taps into an issue which is on the minds - in in the backs of the minds - of many people.
Urbanization, itself, is only one of the interrelated phenomena which have led to an increasing sense of anxiety regarding strangers. We have also become a "televised" society in which many people actually experience intimate, yet entirely fantasy-based, relationships with fictional film and television characters, relationships in which they may pardoxically experience more intimacy (however unidirectional and unreal) with actors on a screen than they do with the three-dimensional people around them. Furthermore, not only are we more urbanized, we're more mobile. Traditional ties to families and small communities have been radically compromised - in fact, this is one of the reasons for the resurgence of fundamentalism in the US and elsewhere: religious fundamentalism is an attempt to recreate a sense of community, however regressive it is in many other ways.
In any case, this film reflects the anxiety of people living in a world where we are FORCED to let strangers into our lives out of economic necessity and the "thrown-togetherness" of modern urban society.
Hedy is such a powerful character because, even though she is the "crazy" in the film, in many ways, her distorted sensitivity and fantasies of sisterlike connection are the cry of that wounded place in so many of us - that is, the fact that we yearn for real, intimate connection with each other but find that such connection is rare or non-existent in our lives.
Intended or not (and I would guess it was intended) the scriptwriter and director have made every other character in this film except, possibly, the upstairs neighbor in some way or another guilty of fundamental selfishness and uncaringness. Even Alison (Ally? Allie?), who at first glance appears to be a reasonable and kind young woman, doesn't hesitate to attempt to throw Hedy out as soon as she decides to get back together with her boyfriend, who, in turn, had betrayed her earlier. Then there is the entire issue of Alison's contracted employer who - well, for those who haven't seen the film, I won't go into this. But he is clearly selfish, as well.
In any case, I think this movie rises above many of the rest of the "dangerous stranger" genre not only because of the acting, but because the character of Hedy, as frightening as she is, is really a reflection of something that is true about most or all of us - not that was are violent and destructive, but that we are all wounded deeply by the Anonymous Society, and we all, or most of us, yearn for a depth of connection that simply isn't possible for most people in a mass, urban, mobile social context where the slow pace of life that once sheltered and nurtured our social interactions has largely broken down.
Description of Single White Female
AN INNOCENT WANT AD OPENS THE DOOR TO MURDEROUS, UNRELENTINGTERROR IN THIS PULSE-POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL SHOCKER. WHEN MOUSY HEDRA CARLSON ANSWERED HER AD SHE THINKS SHE FOUND THE PERFECTROOMMATE. BUT BEFORE LONG HEDRA TAKES OVER THE SPARE BEDROOM, ALLIE'S CLOTHES, HER BOYFRIEND AND HER IDENTITY.You can take this 1992 thriller one of two ways: it's either a highly suspenseful movie about an unfortunate young woman's psychological breakdown, or it's a glossy slasher movie starring two of Hollywood's best young actresses. Or maybe it's both at the same time--or perhaps it's the clever and well-acted thriller for its first hour before resorting to the routine shocks of a cheap horror flick. However you look at it, there's no denying that this is a dynamite showcase for Jennifer Jason Leigh as the roommate from hell who becomes the bane of Bridget Fonda's existence. First she picks up Fonda's mannerisms, then starts to borrow her wardrobe, cuts her hair to resemble Fonda's, and even "borrows" her roomie's boyfriend for a deceitful night of lovemaking. By that point Fonda's totally freaking out (wouldn't you?), and, well, that's when the whole thing gets a little too silly. Still, this is a nifty little shocker, and director Barbet Schroeder brings more intelligence and style to the material than it really deserves. Add that to the fine performances by the battling roommates and you've got a movie that will make you think twice before inviting total strangers to live with you. --Jeff Shannon
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