Single White Female

Directed by: Barbet Schroeder

Memorable quotes:

Sam: "So, how many children do we want?
Allison: I don't know, what's the statistics on norm?
Sam: You and your statistics. 1.2.
Allison: Erm, okay then, I want 2.2 and I want them to look like you.
Sam: Poor kids."

Allison: You're the only friend I need. You're the best think that ever happened to me.

Sam: "I didn't go over there intending to sleep with her Ally, I swear to god.
Allison: Oh well,  I feel a lot better knowing it was accidental."

Graham: What is this, a song cue? You're nobody until somebody loves you?

Allison: "I can do it on my own.
Graham: Absolutely.
Allison: I'll just get a roommate."

Hedra: "I was supposed to be a twin, but she was still-born.
Allison: Oh, that's so sad.
Hedra: I grew up feeling a part of me was missing, you know."

Mitchell Myerson: Hold it, hold it, not so fast. Now, everybody under me know more than I do, I hate that.

Mitchell Myerson: Look, this is your last chance to play before you are an old married lady.

Allison: "I can't believe I didn't see it coming. It's just so humiliating.
Hedra; You're too nice, that's the problem. Men are pigs, I don't care how nice they seem."

Hedra: Listen, you pathetic piece of shit, you want to hold down to your business? Now, you listen to me this time, asshole. If you trash me around town you are fucked, and your family is fucked too, you got that? It won't be just you.

Allison: Gee Hedy, I hope you never get mad at me.

Hedra: I love myself like this.

Graham: "Ally, either she's gone by Saturday or I go to the police, okay?
Allison: That was very impressive!
Graham: I can be a butch when I have to. I get it from my mother. "

Allison: "I know you weren't yourself when you did this thing.
Hedra: I know: I was you. "

Hedra: I don't need a reason to kill myself. I need a reason not to.

Allison: I cried the whole week of Sam's funeral. Graham says that it won't bring him back. He said that I should start letting go. He's right. Hedy's parents said that for years they tried to explain to her that her sister's death wasn't her fault. She never forgave herself for surviving. So, everyday, I try to forgive Hedy for killing Sam. Then, I try to do what she couldn't: forgive myself. I know what can happen to someone who doesn't. 


Plot: When Allison unexpectedly discovers that her boyfriend cheated on her, she takes the hard decision to leave him. Scared to feel alone, she decides to start looking for a roommate...


Review:

Single White Female is a movie based on the novel SWF Seeks Same by John Lutz, and although I haven't read the book yet,  I've watched Single White Female nearly each time I caught it on T.V., and each time I enjoy watching it. Don't get me wrong though, this film is twisted, dark, and does have some violence and sex, so it is definitely not for the little ones, and it's not for people who don't like some twisted mind games either.
I personally love that film. It kept me sitting on the edge of my chair at times, and I love the psychological aspect of it as well. Psychological thrillers are my favourite and I wasn't disappointed by this one. I realize that it might not be everybody's taste though, and a few things are indeed barely realistic or hard to take seriously. Nevertheless, the acting is so good that it makes you forgive the unrealistic elements that occur a few times. The two lead actresses are Bridget Fonda as the smart, successful and sexy Allison Jones, and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the plain, weird, and fragile Hedra Carlson, whose name is the only exotic thing about her. Both actresses did a fantastic job, and I was particularly impressed by Jennifer. Now, the male actors are not nearly as good as them, but their characters aren't nearly as developed as the female duo.
Most of the movie revolves around the duality theme. Hedra lost a twin when she was young, and she is more than willing to find a new one in the person of Allison, although like she says: "You know, identical twins are never identical: there is always one that's prettier and the one who's not does all the work. She used me, and she left me, just like you", and Allison didn't make the exception Like her own twi sister, Allison doesn't fit her expectations. Hedra still starts cutting her hair and dying it so that it would look like Allison's. She also buys the very same clothe and suddenly her behaviour completely changes. The plain, shy and uncomfortable young woman turns out to be more confident and dangerous than predicted, and people or animals who are part of Allison's life start paying the price of Hedra's madness and obsession. Somehow, you still feel sorry for Hedra though. You can just tell that she'll never be happy. No matter how hard she tries to find her lost twin a replacement, the hole she feels inside can never be filled. It cannot excuse all the harm she does, but I find her character interesting in that she's not the regular "bad guys" that you sometimes have in movies. She isn't soulless, she does have feelings and she does cares. Unfortunately, I think she's been so destroyed by guilt that her lack of trust and self-loving makes her unable to have a normal relationship with anyone. She just transfers her own image into others, although she does try to imitate their aspect. For all those reasons, I found her character really interesting to watch and you just know that in the end, there aren't many options left for her: she'll either kill or be killed.
I'd definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a good psychological thriller. This thriller was especially impressive for its time (1992), and I do remember being scared when I first watched this.
A classic in the genre!

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