Steve
In today’s episode, we’re going back to 1992 and talking about Barbet Schroeder’s Single White Female. A movie about dangerous obsessions, urban paranoia, and a serious (and sexy) case of mistaken identity. This is one of those ’90s erotic psychological thrillers on par with something like Basic Instinct. But what you might not know is the toll that making this movie took on its cast. Let’s rewind the clocks a few decades and get to the bottom of what the fuck happened to Single White Female.
For those who don’t know, Single White Female is an adaptation of John Lutz’s novel “SWF Seeks Same”, and follows the story of Allie Jones (played by Bridget Fonda), a recently single software designer in New York City who just so happens to be looking for a new roommate after leaving her cheating fiancé. After taking an ad out in the paper specifying that Allie is looking for a female roommate, she meets a sweet, quiet candidate named Hedy Carlson (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). What starts as a budding friendship between two girls in the big city quickly spirals into an inferno of chaos, deception, and (as is the case with these films) cold-blooded murder, as we learn that Hedy isn’t as harmless as she appears and that nobody is safe.
And the term “Single White Female” comes from the old text used in newspaper ads when women were seeking women roommates.
The Age of the Erotic Thriller
So, this movie is definitely considered a cult classic among fans of the genre, and gaining that coveted title was not easy. The novel the film is based on was published in 1990 and was almost immediately optioned by Columbia Pictures for a major motion picture. At the time, these kinds of movies were just beginning to show their potential, and the age of the 90s erotic thriller was just on the horizon, with Basic Instinct and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle being released that same year. While the novel and the film have their similarities, many of the things this movie is most known for are specific to the film, and we’ll talk about some of that as we go.
How did Single White Female get its start?
In 1990, director Barbet Schroeder, who was vibrating with Oscar buzz at the time for the film Reversal of Fortune, was hired by Columbia to make the movie from a screenplay adapted by Don Roos. Schroeder read the script and the book and noted that he enjoyed the story’s tone and intense themes, and that he was fond of the character dynamics. However, he felt that it was too close to being a slasher (which he wasn’t interested in) so he said that he’d need to lean more into the psychological realism of the movie. And Columbia agreed! And just like that, Schroeder was in, and production would start in the summer of 1991, in New York City.
Bridget Fonda was offered the role without auditioning. Actually, she was offered either of the two leading roles without auditioning. According to the production, Schroeder met with Fonda and told her she could choose between Allie and Hedy, and Fonda wanted the role of Allie, as she felt playing the anchor character would be more of a challenge. What Barbet Schroeder wanted to make sure of was that the two actors he hired were able to (at a certain point in the plot) converge and achieve the same look. With that, Jennifer Jason Leigh was chosen to pair with Fonda. Jennifer Jason Leigh was known widely in the industry for disappearing into her roles, and the production thought that would come in handy for the character who (in some ways) would end up doing the same.
Additional casting includes Steven Weber as Sam (Allie’s ex-fiancé), Peter Friedman as her friend and neighbor, Graham, Ned the Head himself, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Happy Gilmore’s grandma, Frances Bay. That’s honestly most of the named characters in the film; the whole story is primarily focused on the two main characters.
Setting the tone
Now, this is the 90s, and we’re talking about an erotic thriller. As such, this movie includes such staple scenes as a weird nightclub that is definitely a public orgy, moments of romantic tension between the characters (even if it’s one-sided), and a classic 90s New York movie apartment. All of which were shot on location in practical settings, adding to this movie’s unbelievable set design and visual style. And that’s one of the main things this film will be remembered for. The slick, moody, shadowy aesthetic of this movie makes for a very strong rewatch.
Fonda would later speak about making the movie and admit that the production was extremely hard for her. Not because of the director, not because of the other actors, but because being in the headspace of Allie all summer and spending hours on end being vulnerable, afraid, and paranoid had left her exhausted and emotionally scarred. Not to mention her scenes that involve more violent actions from Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character; she found it hard to go through with the physical acting. She got through it and gave a superb performance like a true professional, but, according to her, it was one of the most demanding jobs of her career, and it changed something inside her after the film wrapped.
You know what? I’d be traumatized too if Jennifer Jason Leigh was aiming her performance directly at me because her work on the character of Hedy was AWESOME. Leigh is one of those actors who can switch from soft and sweet to diabolical and spooky on a dime, and it is legendary. She starts to show her weirdness early on in the film and it only gets more and more intense as the movie goes. I’d liken her performance in this movie to something like Terry O’Quinn in The Stepfather. This subtlety eventually becomes full-on over-the-top rage, and the blend from one state to the next is seamless, terrifying, and unpredictable.
Let’s go clubbin’
As for the fetish club that Allie visits. They used the exterior of a real bondage club in New York called “TheHellfire Club,” but the interiors were rebuilt on a soundstage based on the inside of a similar club called “The Vault.” So even the locations that weren’t real feel very real.
Similar to The Talented Mr Ripley, which I just talked about here on the channel, Hedy’s whole deal is that she slowly and gradually starts to transform herself into Allie out of a similar obsession. All building up to a point in the movie where Hedy fully takes on the look of Allie and uses her likeness to nail her ex-fiancé. It’s just one of those movies.
For the iconic look of Allie, Fonda wore a shiny, red bob-cut wig that was so incredibly ’90s. I actually still think it’s cool. Both actresses used wigs for the shoot, so that when the transformation was complete, they had total control over the look, as they felt that was the most important aspect for driving home the movie’s believability.
After the film wrapped, it took Fonda a while before she felt she could fully shed the skin of playing Allie and get herself (and her psyche) back to neutral. Jennifer Jason Leigh, being somewhat of a method actress, also took some time to shake out the evil she brought to playing Hedy.
Making magic in the editing bay
The film entered its editing pass, and many decisions made in the edit REALLY impacted how effective this movie is. Things like shots of doors closing, hearing foley, and phones ringing off-screen to induce anxiety, and the layout of the apartment itself. They all serve as a sneaky form of misdirection that makes the viewer feel uneasy and paranoid. And I have to admit, these choices DO make a difference. The film’s score (composed by Howard Shore) also does the whole movie a favor, as it’s an eerie soundscape of strange tones and a slow tempo. Something we weren’t really seeing in similar movies and their scores.
In the late summer of 1992, Single White Female was released to theaters to pretty solid success, making about $84 million worldwide on a budget of only $16 million. The critics were mixed on this one at the time, but it has since come to be seen as an enjoyable, sharply directed movie with powerful leading performances. Both, I’d agree with. But let me tell ya, you don’t have to take my word for it, folks, as this movie CRUSHED the home-release market when it came out. It was released on laser disc (if y’all remember that) and VHS and became one of the most rented films of 1993. Everyone saw this movie at home. I remember it being on in my house more than once over the years.
Single White Female somehow repped LGBTQ+ cinema in the ’90s
The movie’s reputation has also evolved into being sort of iconic as an LGBTQ + film, as its themes of romantic connection and downright same-sex attraction have served as subtext to finding one’s identity and discovering one’s own desires and preferences. These themes were noted in the 90s by some critics and caused some controversy at the time of their release. Most criticisms have subsided, however.
Although it has kind of become a meme – at least for me growing up – the term “single white female” would be used to describe a friend who was like… clingy. Like how the term “Stan” has taken on new meaning since the 90s.
And as if that legacy weren’t enough, the movie also spawned a direct-to-DVD sequel in 2005, which was a sequel in name only, as it had no canon to the original film. The movie was called Single White Female 2: The Psycho, which reads as desperation. I don’t know, I haven’t seen it, and neither have you. So, let’s forget about it.
But let’s never forget about the recent stage adaptation of Single White Female, which hit the road as a traveling show and has received rave reviews from those who have seen it. I think it’s only showing in the UK, though, so I’m not sure if it’ll end up here in the U.S. If it does, I’m there.
And folks, that is basically what the fuck happened to Single White Female.
