Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Single White Female Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson December 13, 2018

Note: This R-rated film contains some heavy and mature adult themes along with a scene of simulated oral sex that isn't appropriate for minors.

The prologue to Barbet Schroeder's Single White Female foreshadows the theme of doubles as well as the aesthetic motif of mirrors. Two cute twin sisters are playing with makeup as one applies lipstick to the other in a mirror reflection. Before developing these dualities further, however, Schroeder quickly sets up a conflict between a young female computer whiz and her handsome, narcissistic fiancé who will later get in the middle of two single white female roommates. Like Mike Nichols, Schroeder prefers to hover over the exterior of his film's principal setting (a New York high-rise apartment) during the main titles. An unexpected phone call awakens the possible future couple, Allison "Allie" Jones (Bridget Fonda) and Sam Rawson (Steven Weber). Upon learning that the caller is not only Sam's ex-wife but also the admission that Sam has been having an affair with his former spouse causes Allie to angrily throw him out. Although her personal life is in turbulence, Allie has become an innovative software designer in fashion model styles, which attracts the attention of Mitchell Myerson (Stephen Tobolowsky). Mitch is the proprietor of a growing fashion company and asks to purchase Allie's program at a low cost, which she accepts. With Sam out, Allie is conducting a series of interviews with prospective female roommates. (This is shown through a montage edit.) No candidate seems to make a full impression on Allie until she's greeted in her kitchen by Hedy Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an outwardly friendly young lady from out of town. (This scene nicely establishes the recurrent "breaking and entering" through-line that the film returns to in different milieus.) After she agrees to have Hedy as her new roommate, Allie and her cohabitant seem to hit it off and be on their way to becoming the best of friends. At first, they enjoy the other's company. Hedy is the stay-at-home type who gets lonesome and buys a new puppy. That's when things begin to go wrong. Allie feels that some of her space has been invaded. When a near-rape occurs at work, Allie tells Hedy about it and it's the latter who threatens the perpetrator. Hedy's overprotectiveness for Allie turns into possession. She wants to become exactly like Allie.

Allie, meet your new roommate.

Based on John Lutz's 1990 novel, S.W.F Seeks Same, Single White Female was Schroeder's third American film (which followed his award-winning Reversal of Fortune) and a box-office hit for Columbia that continued the era's "female psychopath" trend made famous by Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992). All the actors have clear emotional investment in their characters thanks to outstanding direction by Schroeder. The multifaceted script by Don Roos gives several complex layers to the love/hate relationship between Allie and Hedy. Jennifer Jason Leigh is magnificent as Hedy because she allows the audience to go inside the vortex of her split personality. Bridget Fonda is also very strong as her co-star "twin" and smart enough not to overplay a delicate role. Peter Friedman is a versatile character actor who is excellent as Allie's neighbor friend living in a unit above her. Stephen Tobolowsky cuts his teeth into the part of a vain, slimy, and misogynist fashion firm owner. The movie's third act turns into more of a by-the-numbers thriller but it's still highly satisfying to watch because of the compelling two leads.

Single White Female Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory, a division of Shout! Factory, has released Single White Female on a BD-50 using the standard MPEG-4 AVC encode. This is the second Blu-ray edition of Schroeder's seventh feature, which immediately followed Umbrella Entertainment's no-frills disc in November. Unlike UE's matted 1.78:1 presentation, Scream has framed SWF in its proper 1.85:1 ratio. I was extremely pleased with the consistency and balance of the grain structure from start to finish. There's little to no jittering in the frame and no discernible image stability issues. Gone from the Columbia DVD are the noise and overblown contrast. Cinematographer Luciano Tovoli devised a lighting scheme of pale blue moonlight for the interiors of Allie and Hedy's apartment (see screenshot directly below as well as Allie and Sam in bed in #15). The opening shots of the two kid sisters is the grainiest in the film. It looks like Tovoli may have inserted a gauze filter to go with the pearl tone. Skin tones are occasionally pink and amber (sunlight contributing to the latter). I was a bit disappointed that Scream couldn't have given the transfer a maxed-out bitrate. Total content that makes up the disc is only 29.45 GB. The video has been encoded at an average bitrate of 30999 kbps.

The 108-minute movie has been given the regular dozen scene selections. (By contrast, Columbia's letterboxed LaserDisc carried thirty-six chapter markers!)

Single White Female Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream Factory supplies the film's original stereo surround in a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix (1577 kbps, 24-bit). The master used for this track sounds clear with no audible hiss present. Spoken words are distinct and comprehendible. There isn't a lot of separation except for the film's handful of action scenes. Howard Shore's brooding score is very effective in underlying the atmosphere. It demonstrates more melodic sounds when commenting on the characters' relationships. For a composer of Shore's stature and prestige, it's hard to believe that a label has yet to this score on album!

The transcription onscreen of the sound track's dialogue (English SDH) is complete and accurate.

Single White Female Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio commentary with Director Barbet Schroeder, Editor Lee Percy, and Associate Producer Susan Hoffman - this is a three-way track sans a moderator. Schroeder heads the discussion while Percy and Hoffman chip in on occasion. For some reason, this commentary felt like an older one from a previous DVD but it was recently recorded by Scream. It's a pretty good chat for the first half of the movie but in the second, the filmmakers get too caught up with what's happening on screen and merely describe the action. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Director Barbet Schroeder (27:20, 1080p) - Schroeder delivers a very fine capsule of SWF's project origins, production history, relationship with Columbia, and how well his film's held up. Schroeder's English is excellent in this unsubtitled interview.

• NEW Interview with Actor Peter Friedman (7:17, 1080p) - Friedman talks about his approach to portraying Graham and the most challenging scenes he had to perform during filming. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Actor Steven Weber (19:41, 1080p) - Weber delves into how he interpreted Sam's intentions and motivations opposite the Fonda and Leigh characters and shares anecdotes of his time on the New York-based sets. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Screenwriter Don Roos (25:41, 1080p) - Roos covers a wide range of topics, including how he got to adapt Lutz's novel for his first big-screen script, his views of the writing process as its changed over the years, his thoughts on the two leads, and working with Schroeder. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:04, 1080p) - a dirty looking trailer of Single White Female that's presented in full-frame mode. This was previously included on all the Columbia/Sony DVDs.

Single White Female Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Single White Female remains one of the most exciting and provocative sexy thrillers of the nineties. It is primarily a deadly cat-and-mouse square-off between Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The latter is especially memorable and was robbed of an Oscar nomination. I expect that movie fans who enjoyed The Hand That Rocks the Cradle will get even more of hoot out of SWF. (The Curtis Hanson picture, also released in 1992, would be a good acquisition for Shout.) Those who crave De Palma's thrillers (and I very much do) will definitely want to indulge in SWF. While the print used for this transfer is probably only 2K, it does a wonderful job of replicating the "filmy" look. Even though the filmmaker trio commentary is average, the four new interviews Scream recorded cover a range of topics about the film splendidly. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.