User reviews

Single White Female is directed by Barbet Schroeder and adapted to screenplay by Don Roos from the novel "SWF Seeks Same" written by John Lutz. It stars Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman and Stephen Tobolowsky. Music is by Howard Shore and cinematography by Luciano Tovoli.

When it's revealed that her partner Sam (Weber) has been cheating on her with his ex-wife, Allie Jones (Fonda) kicks him out of the apartment and advertises for a female roommate. She chooses Hedra Carlson (Leigh), who on the surface seems to be the perfect roommate. Smoothly helping Allie through her crisis, a real friendship is formed, but it's not long before Hedra starts to exhibit some dark behaviour patterns…..

The early 90s saw the "Woman from Hell" back in vogue in mainstream cinema. After the success and publicity of Fatal Attraction (1987), there was a period where you feel that sensible film makers wisely chose to let that particular film disappear from the film lovers memory banks. As it happens, they must have collectively chose 5 years as the cooling off period. For 1992 saw a wave of mad female on the loose pictures released. Led by the publicity gobbling Basic Instinct, films such as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Single White Female put bums on cinema seats and reopened the "Mad Bitch" sub-genre. Of the three, Single White Female grossed the least, which is strange since it's a better movie than the other two.

Schroeder's (Barfly/Reversal of Fortune) movie isn't a complete success, there's not enough development of the main characters and there's some unintentionally funny moments. But when it's good it's real good. Reeling off a number of memorable and often chilling scenes, film is further boosted by the psychological smarts in Roos' (Boys on the Side) screenplay. It helps that Schroeder has a knack for pacing, too, where he neatly simmers the plot until the spill over for the big finale. No disappointment there either, a good combination of genre staples is enhanced in impact by some unexpected character developments, and there's moments of genuine suspense to lure the viewer to the edge of their seat.

It's also stylishly shot by Schroeder and Tovoli (Suspiria/Tenebrae). Allie's Upper West Side apartment is imposing and expansive, with high ceilings, old time plumbing, a clunky lift and a dingy laundry in the basement. It's a different set-up for such a thriller, no picket fence harmony house or beach side residence, this is bustling New York, big spaces, but as it turns out, that means no hiding place. The boys behind the cameras get the maximum they can from the locale by blending imposing and ominous with grainy veneer and filtered light. On the acting front, the girls put great effort into making their thinly developed characters work, with Leigh doing a good line in progressive instability. While Friedman, Weber and a wonderfully naughty Tobolowsky, make the most of their secondary roles.

One or two obvious flaws aside, this still rounds out as a thoroughly enjoyable thriller. 7.5/10

A fairly engaging psychological thriller. Of course, there must be some suspension of disbelief, as in Hedy(Jennifer Jason Leigh) wielding a shoe. Also, there really are no truly sympathetic characters here. Hedy, of course, is what she is. And, Allie(Bridget Fonda), the supposed heroine, does kind of screw over Hedy. And Sam (Steven Webber) is basically a snake anyway. As for the actors, I thought Miss Leigh was by far the best, though she had the meatiest part, so it may be hard to compare. And what an amazing apartment for a young software designer in Manhattan. OK, they mentioned it was rent-controlled. What an insane economic policy. Grade: B-

Another movie with great potential. The film unfolds almost perfectly and you find yourself in a tense and deep psychological thriller (no spoilers to the plot). But then, the director chooses the easy way and we have a usual ending with mostly unrealistic situations and splatter sequences (ouch this dragging scene with the head bump at the elevator step must have hurt!).

As the title implies, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE is about what happens when an ad for a housemate is answered by someone rather... troubled. Allison (Bridget Fonda) places the ad after her fiance, Sam (Steven Weber), turns out to be a not-so charming prince. Yep, he's been cheating on her.

Enter Hedra "Hedy" Carlson (Jennifer Jason-Leigh), who appears to be the perfect candidate. At first, all goes amazingly well, and the two get along great. Of course, this wouldn't be much of a thriller if everything went peachy. So, it's not long before Sam starts wooing Allison back, and Hedy starts exhibiting some odd quirks and rather unsettling behaviors. Things only get worse from here. What's a woman-gone-berserk to do next? Why, kill everyone in her way, naturally!

SWF came out at a time when similar psychological thrillers were all the rage. Ms.' Fonda and Jason-Leigh are quite good in their roles, with Allison going from clueless to suspicious to fighting for survival, while Hedy goes from seemingly shy to completely bananas! Those who love this sort of movie will love this one. Those who don't, can blame FATAL ATTRACTION.

P.S.- Anyone enamored with the female form will be overjoyed to know that both Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason-Leigh spend relatively lengthy periods of time in their birthday suits!...

Formulaic, formulaic… yeah it's routine Hollywood psycho-thriller territory, but too visually well made by director Barbet Schroeder and comfortably performed in the shape of Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh to not get something out of it. The story (adapted off John Lutz's novel "SWF Seeks Same") plays its cards quite early, and goes about the subject in a too convenient manner to make it entirely effective. Quite a slow build-up and many sub-plots stem off the central plot, as we watch Leigh's character's twitchy transformation suddenly grow and form the basis of the early groundwork that would eventually unsettle Fonda's fragile character. A resourceful Schroeder sure does a brilliant job with many artistic flourishes, and inspired gimmick set-pieces where you just can't help but admire Luciano Tovoli's lyrically smooth cinematography. However trying to register the suspense, became hard due to leading us down the same old path of cheap clichéd jolts and shinny techniques. Although the potent climax goes over-board, it's particularly heart-pounding and downright exciting. There's nothing overtly tame about it, with its seamless nudity and tantalizing sex, and a wicked death here and there. But it's all tastefully done. Howard Shore's sumptuously airy musical score feeds off the well used location and compact sets (especially that of the stark Victorian apartment building) that are very ideal to the film's progression. In the two leads, a gorgeous Fonda is terrific and Leigh's needly attachable turn is one of confidence. The chemistry works, and when it comes to it they sure do look like each other. Talk about eerie. There's also solid support by Steven Weber, Peter Friedman and Stephen Tobolowsky.

if you compare what other fare was offered to the audience, in the way of suspense/psycho films. Also, Jennifer Jason Leigh is always interesting to watch, she adds depth to an otherwise one-dimensional character.

Bridget Fonda is also good, as Allison Jones, a NY designer on her way up, (there is an amusing scene with Stephen Tobolowsky as her sleazy client). It is a bit hard to believe the square footage of the NY apartment however, for two young single girls to be renting something that size. Also, some scenes reminded me of Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby"; the laundry room, the storage area, etc.

Steven Weber is the faithless fiancé, with whom Fonda has a falling-out, and then Hedy (Jason Leigh) decides he is fair game. She has a psychological disorder, apparently lost her twin sister at a young age, and has never recovered.

The usual psychodrama ensues. Fonda's upstairs neighbor, Graham, attempts to help her, advises her to get Hedy to leave the apartment. One scene which is quite odd is where Allison follows Hedy to a bar, there is some inference to "S and M" type behavior, but this is not developed. Strange.

Worth watching for Jason Leigh's performance, or if you like Bridget Fonda. Not the best thriller- If you want something truly psychologically frightening rent Polanski's "Repulsion", starring Catherine Deneuve.

This is a tense thriller about an obsessive woman who becomes too enthralled in someone else's life, and even gets herself mixed up in lies, deceit and other bad activities, and the cycle of problems just gets more momentum. The basic plot is that Allison (Bridget Fonda) gets a roommate for her Manhattan apartment (has anyone ever seen an apartment this large in NYC??) after her skirt-crazy live-in lover Sam (played by "Wings" star Steven Weber) runs around on her. It's Headra "Hedy" (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the rescue! This is one of my favorite suspense films. The setting is amazing, an old spooky apartment building but a gorgeous sparsely furnished apartment within. There really isn't a lot of violence in this movie, mainly just at the end. It's a good suspense movie, though, which builds and builds. The film is stylish, thanks to Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) cinematography. Fonda and Leigh give strong performances in this movie. This is an underrated thriller, which is surprisingly clever movie.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

'Single White Female (1992)' is an effective 'stalker' thriller primarily because it takes its time, slowly ratcheting up the tension and unease as its seemingly straight-laced central relationship slowly deteriorates into something much more one-sided. Leigh treats her initially mild-mannered character as a bit of an enigma, remaining oddly empathetic even after her psychotic tendencies start to come into play. It's easy to understand why Fonda's character doesn't dismiss her immediately, which is important for this sort of material. There are quite a few frustrating yet relatively 'harmless' incidents before the big stuff starts streaming in, creating an engaging experience with appropriate peaks and valleys in its suspense. Though it isn't totally predictable, it's very much in line with its genre. That's not really an issue, however; it's rather entertaining throughout. It's confident in its ability to walk the line between downplayed realism and over-the-top fantasy, leading to a rather grounded result that feels as though it could happen even if it probably couldn't. 7/10

I love Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but, what are they doing here? A shameless rip off of a much better movie "Apartment Zero" with Colin Firth and Hart Bochner. As the journey had already been taken, the trip becomes an irritating one. I didn't care about it for a minute. The two actresses are always worth watching, they have the power to attract their audience whatever they're doing. That's partly why, I was so put off by the nonsense they were involved with in Single White Female.

'Vertigo' meets 'Basic Instinct' as like Clint Eastwood in 'Play Misty for Me', Bridget Fonda learns the hard way that a seemingly harmless young lady she introduces to her life (and her palatial apartment) is more than just needy.

Situations like this are more common than you realize. I had a roommate that tried to assume my life while I was still living it!

After enduring that. I still have a sense of humor about this film. For one thing it would never get made today with that title.

The building is magnificent and beautiful-creepy. Very old New York. In sure these days those large rooms would be individual studio apartments or one huge luxury condominium.

As I said even though this film is funnier than scary, it is very true to life like the scene where she catches Jennifer Jason Leigh self pleasuring.

Plus, all roommates snoop thru your things.

I finally seen this with my own eyes. What a missed opportunity. If their intention was to remake "Apartment Zero" with two females in the lead, they failed miserably. They missed the point of the original,totally. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh are very good but the movie isn't. I lost patience with the convoluted phony attempt to capture my attention within the first 15 minutes of the film.. I'd seen it all before. I felt treated like an idiot. There is no psychological road to follow because the characters are replicates from better movies, they don't have a life of their own and as a consequence, I didn't care. By the way, where are Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh? I haven't seen them in a long time and I think they are wonderful - in other movies that is.

Here's another film I really enjoyed on the first viewing but lost its impact dramatically on subsequent viewings.

This interesting story was quite a topic of conversation when it came out 15 years ago. By now, it's probably considered fairly tame, and nothing that shocking or special. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh star with Leigh getting the juicier role as the wacko, "Hedy Carlson." Character studies of people like her are usually entertaining. Leigh has made a career of playing totally immoral women. She also shows a lot of skin in this movie, something else she likes to do in her films.

Fonda's character, "Allie Jones," is no Mary Poppins, either, or should I say Fonda isn't anybody pure. The movie shows several scenes of her having sex with her boyfriend. This actress isn't shy, either.

The movie starts building its suspense about halfway through when Leigh - the roommate and admirer of Fonda - begins to lose her girlfriend to that guy....and decides to do something about it.

There really isn't a lot of violence in this movie, mainly just at the end. It's a good suspense movie, though, which builds and builds. It's good for one viewing.

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.

It's a psychotic thriller about loss, human fragility and the twisted games that could come out of a disturbed mind.

It all begins when Allison Jones (played by Brigit Fonda) rents a room in her apartment, after breaking up with her boyfriend, to a girl called Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), someone she didn't know. In the beginning everything was being OK but suddenly she starts finding out some strange things about her... and the troubles begin...

This thriller has some good suspense scenes and a nice plot, but I was expecting a little more of it. I had already seen it some years ago, and at that time I did like it, as I did now, but it seemed to be a little better at that first time. Today I enjoyed it but found it nothing special, nothing too much above average; especially if we take count on its final disclosure. I think it could have been much better.

I was thinking score it 7/10, mainly because of the plot, but after remember that standard and unsatisfying ending I can't score it more than a 6/10.

Cliche ending they say-I disagree. Strongly disagree. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this movie. Apart from I could have watched a whole series of this. A very well done, well shown masterpiece. Fonda is a little stone-faced at times and some of the actors lacked energy, but regardless although middy predictable, this movie deserved much more attention than it got. This wasn't a B-movie, nor was it flat and bland. Lots of nicely done scenes, wasn't over the top, wasn't dull, got you gripped and got you to think about your actions and who you trust. Entertaining all the way through and the other lead (the disturbed one) not only looked hot and gorgeous, she really did well with her character. Starting off as a shy young woman trying to make it in the big apple and be supportive, moving in with a vulnerable woman who looked a bit like Peter Pan. Still gripping.

I agree with Roger Ebert that you have to judge movies by what the filmmakers want the movie to be, not what you would have liked for them to do. That is, if you don't like a certain type of movie, well, then don't watch them. If you do watch them, judge them on their own merits. That said Single White Female does a good job in the 'slasher' genre.

The protagonist is recently jilted Bridget Fonda who needs to find a new roommate now that she's dumped her two-timing fiancée. She ends up with Jennifer Jason Leigh, a psychopath. Of course Ms. Fonda doesn't know this right away, but as she slowly patches up her relationship with the guy, Ms. Leigh begins to go over the deep end.

The movie is very formulaic in a 1980s kind of way. The set characters are all present; the understanding gay neighbor, the not-understanding fiancée, the lecherous, predatory boss. And the final 30 minutes are so boilerplate its almost sad.

Nonetheless this is one of the better of the genre, so if this is your cup of tea, go for it.

Tasteless piece of Grand Guignol from Barbet Schroeder, a director who should've known better. Independent New York businesswoman Bridget Fonda, having just broken up with her fiancé, advertises for a female roommate and feels an immediate kinship with Jennifer Jason Leigh, a straggly, down-to-earth young applicant who may not be exactly what she seems. Film begins with razor-like precision, including an eerie prologue, but becomes increasingly outlandish, queasy, predictable and ridiculous as the plot thickens. By the overbaked finale, with Fonda swinging down from the rafters, the movie has all but imploded, leaving a depressing pile-up of bodies in its wake. *1/2 from ****

I saw this movie in theater in 1992 and remember it being very entertaining and somewhat racy. Fourteen years later the film holds up well to the test of time. A major difference is in the level of nudity between this film and the thrillers of today. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh are hot! lets see them naked and often. Barbet schroeder understands this, and we see them both naked from the onset of the film. The story and acting develop well, the dialog is well written and the camera work is adequate.

Jennifer Jason Leigh steals the show in this film, she does a superb job handling the transition in the character of Heddy with her body language and shyness into the transition of a sexually charged woman, who is assertive and obviously losing her grip on reality. She takes more risks and becomes bold and violent. Overall much better and more entertaining than any of the crap you will find being made today in Hollywood. Don't expect Shakespeare and just enjoy the ride.