Director: Barbet Schreoder
Writer: Don Roos (Screenplay) John Lutz (Novel)
Starring: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman, Stephen Tobolowsky, Frances Bay
Plot: A woman advertising for a new roommate finds that something very strange is going on with the tenant who decides to move in.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Tense Stalker Roommate Film
Story: Single White Female starts when advertising computer tech Allison Jones (Fonda) has a big break up with her current partner Sam (Weber) leading to her reaching desperate times with her career, trying to find the income she looks for a new roommate to help with the rent.
The ideal roommate comes into Allison’s life, Hedra (Leigh) a young lady that has great chemistry with Allison. When Sam comes back into Allison’s life Hedra starts getting jealous leading to a string of unusual events affecting Allison’s life, Allison soon learns the truth about Hedra needing to find a way to move her out before her own life becomes in danger.
Thoughts on Single White Female
Story – The old psycho roommate story, well this does give us a female driven version of the story with most of the men being made out to be horrible throughout, we have plenty of by the books material but if it isn’t broken why fix it right? This is an easy watch and you can believe how everything unfolds without it being anything that stands out from the rest in the genre.
Thriller – This is a film that does keep us on edge through the film wondering just how the clogs will be ticking inside the head of Hedra.
Characters/Performance – Allison comes off a strong career driven woman but slightly naïve when it comes to other things in her life, she is happy to have a lying cheating boyfriend but struggles to make friends in the big city. Hedra is an interesting character who is happy to get obsessed with what she thinks is her perfect friend if not sister, calm calculated through each and every decision she makes.
The performance from both Fonda and Leigh are great with Leigh stealing the show as the psycho roommate. We do have a few other characters but they don’t get enough time to shine with their limited screen time.
Settings – The settings for this film keep us within the apartment for the most part with only glimpse outside in the city. Keeping everything inside the apartment helps with the suspense of not knowing someone before letting the live with you.
Final Thoughts – This is a thriller that builds on the psycho roommate idea with a very strong female leading performance between the two actresses.
Overall: Well-made psycho roommate film
Rating
