Single White Female — Single White Female(Blu Ray)

Single White Female is an early 90’s psychological thriller, with a rewarding steady build of tension, a neat old apartment setting, a few light erotic touches and some effective moments of surprise plotting/shock. The film regards a woman who has recently split with her partner- getting a flatmate who is not quite what she seems. Here from Powerhouse is a Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in an HD scan of the film, one new extra & great selection of archive fare.

Single White Female is from the year 1991. It was largely filmed in The Ansonia- a seventeen-story condominium building on Broadway, which was built in the late 1800s with its grand Beaux-Arts style of architecture.  It was helmed by Tehran, Iran-born Barbet Schroeder- who has nineteen features to his name. These take in the likes of art house drug-taking road movie featuring a Pink Floyd soundtrack More (1969), S&M Romantic drama Maîtresse (1976), skid row drama and addiction romance Barfly (1987), and thriller Inju: The Beast in the Shadow (2008).

The film kicks off with a flashback as we get presented with low-key creepy images of two female twins. We then zoom forward to the then present-day New York where late twenty-something couple Alison (Bridget Fonda) and Sam(  Steven Weber) are sleeping. The phone rings, and he answers it & it’s his ex-wife, he tells her to go away. But she rings back with the answer phone kicking in, as she reveals that Sam had been around that day, and slept with her…so Alison boots him out of their apartment.

She puts an advert in the paper for a new flatmate- interviewing a few candidates, as well as taking a Polaroid of each. Just after everyone has left, she breaks down in the kitchen- when in walks Hedra (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who both helps her with her emotional upset and fixes a broken tap…so she seems the perfect flatmate, so he invites her to move in with her.

Alison has invented a new computer program, which lets clothing makers see different clothes of different body shapes. We see her having a meeting with the decidedly manipulative & sleazy Mitchell played by Stephen Tobolowsky- who I know from Ground Hog Day, as the obnoxious friend in the film.  She signs up to work with him, but at a lot lower rate than she expected.   Also in her life is her several floors-up gay friend (Peter Friedman) – who is very much a confidante/ shoulder to cry on.

As the days tick by Hedra & Alision are getting on well- though she does overstep the mark by bringing a labrador puppy home. Slowly but surely she starts to shift from being personable/caring, to overprotective, and more than a little unsettled-  I won’t detail the plot any further, but it certainly keeps you held/entertained.

Both the female leads are good here- though  I think Fonda puts her most into the role, as she gets to show a range of emotions- with her largely selling them. Otherwise, Tobolowsky is excellent as her creepy boss- balancing low-key awkwardness with later some real threat. Oh, and if you’re a sucker for ’90s computer tech/ early internet elements we also have touches of this in the mix too.

The film plays at one hour and forty-seven, and maybe ten or twenty minutes could have been removed to get things moving a little quicker- though I think as it is the characters are given a bit more time to breathe/ develop, oh and no big spoilers but look out for a creative use of a stiletto. All in all Single White Female is an engaging enough psychological thriller, with the location giving a good bit of atmosphere to proceedings.

 

This region B Blu-Ray takes in an HD scan of the film- this looks well-defined &  balanced throughout. On the extras side, we get a fairly good selection of extras- though most of this on archive side of things. The only new thing we get is She’ll Follow You Anywhere (25.51)  This finds Anna Bogutskaya- critic, broadcaster, and author of Unlikeable Female Character- looking at the film from the context of the erotic thriller. She begins by discussing how the film to hand appeared at the tail end of the genre, as well as touching on other notable films in the genre such as Basic Instinct. She talks about the genre's blend of sex and death, and compares it to a more explicit take on noir.  She breaks down the traits of the two female lead characters in the film, and mentions its use of mirrors. And comments on the myth that there wasn’t an alternative ending to the film- though she found no proof of this. All in all a most interesting featurette.

On the archive side of things, we get the following: Audio commentary with director Barbet Schroeder, editor Lee Percy, and associate producer Susan Hoffman. New York Interview: Barbet Schroeder (28 mins): a 2018 interview director discusses the production and release of Single White Female. Upstairs with Graham Knox (8 mins): a 2018 interview with actor Peter Friedman recalls his casting and relates some anecdotes from the set. The Fiance Sam Rawson (20 mins): a 2018 in-depth interview with actor Steven Weber. SWF Seeks Writer (26 mins):  a 2018 interview with screenwriter Don Roos looks back on his adaptation of John Lutz’s novel and working with Schroeder. Original theatrical trailer, and Image gallery: promotional and publicity material

The finished release comes with a thirty-six-page booklet with a new essay by Georgia Humphreys, extracts from contemporary articles on the making of the film featuring interviews with cast and crew, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits

Single White Female is an entertaining & engaging 90’s thriller- with a good feel of building tension, rewarding moments of shock, and a few erotic touches. It’s nice to see it receiving the Powerhouse treatment- with a good selection of largely archive extra