Terror Tuesday: Single White Female
<p>Software developer Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda) has hit a rough patch: Her boyfriend's a cheat, and her glamourous fashion industry job won't cover his half of her exquisite rent-controlled apartment. Allison's newspaper ad for a roommate introduces her the mousy yet affable Hedra (Jennifer Jason Leigh). But Hedra has a jealous side, and soon it becomes clear she wants everything Allison has, and will stop at nothing to get it. In the shadow of Hitchcock, thrillers of the '80s and '90s paired suspense with sex, and served up horror tropes with a Hollywood sheen. SINGLE WHITE FEMALE is unique among them for its woman-to-woman focus, while standing among a pantheon of films about female identity fugue (PERSONA, VERTIGO, 3 WOMEN, SISTERS). Directed by Barbet Schroeder, the stars run the show here — Bridget Fonda as the strong yet helpless Allison, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose performance as the sad and desperate Hedra is the orbit of this sisterly stalker tale. (Alicia Coombs)</p> <p><em>35mm print courtesy of Sony Pictures.</em></p>