Single White Female
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Single White Female is a 1992 thriller based on John Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same. The movie stars Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Steven Weber and is directed by Barbet Schroeder, who also directed Reversal of Fortune.
Plot
New York City software designer Allison "Allie" Jones is engaged to Sam Rawson. Sam's ex-wife calls, and when it is revealed that he slept with her recently, Allie throws him out, breaking off their engagement, and her neighbor, aspiring actor Graham Knox, comforts her. The next morning, Allie attends a business lunch with Mitchell Myerson, a fashion house owner looking to buy Allie's revolutionary new program. He manipulates her into significantly reducing the price; as he is her first and only client, she accepts.
Allie advertises for a new roommate to share her apartment in the Ansonia. She settles on Hedra Carlson, whom she nicknames "Hedy", and they become friends. Hedy explains that her twin was stillborn, leaving her constantly lonely. Hedy becomes overly protective of Allie, erasing Sam's voice-mail asking Allie to reconcile with him. She buys a puppy named Buddy to bond with Allie, but becomes jealous when Sam wins Allie back and they seek a new apartment for themselves. Perceiving Allie as having rejected her, Hedy is upset and becomes further frustrated when Buddy does not come to her even when she coaxes him. Allie and Sam later find Buddy's corpse on the ground below her apartment's window. Returning to the apartment, Allie sees that the window was open with a gap wide enough for Buddy to get through. Hedy claims that Buddy's death was an accident because she had thought the bars outside the window had been fixed.
Mitchell tries to coerce Allie into performing fellatio on him upon completing their deal, threatening to warn off future clients and not pay her, but she fights back and escapes. To comfort Allie, Hedy takes her to get a haircut, but after Hedy appears dressed exactly like her, including her haircut, Allie is unnerved. That night, Allie follows Hedy to an underground nightclub and witnesses Hedy masquerading as Allie. Allie finds a shoebox containing letters addressed to Ellen Besch – Hedy's real name – along with a letter from Sam to Allie, and a newspaper clipping on the accidental drowning of Hedy's twin sister Judy when she was nine years old.
Allie tells Graham the truth about Hedy, both of them unaware Hedy is listening. Allie leaves, and Hedy attacks Graham. When Sam returns the following night, Hedy impersonates Allie and begins to perform oral sex on him, but when he realizes it isn't Allie, Hedy continues regardless, after which Sam realizes that Allie was right about Hedy. Hedy begs him to leave Allie alone, but he refuses and insists on telling Allie the truth. Furious, Hedy kills him by gouging his eye with her stiletto heel.
Hedy tells Allie she is about to leave. Seeing a news report on Sam's death, Allie realizes what has happened and tries to leave herself, but Hedy takes her hostage at gunpoint, explaining that everyone will believe Allie killed Sam. To "protect" Allie, Hedy tries to convince her that they must run away. While booking a flight online to Los Angeles, Allie attempts to send a distress message, but Hedy catches her.
Mitchell notices his files being erased (a security program initiated by late payments), and rushes to find Allie. He finds her bound and gagged with duct tape, but while he attempts to free Allie, Hedy shoots and kills him. Hedy then tries to persuade Allie to commit suicide via drug overdose, but Allie resists. Hedy points the gun at Allie as she tries to run, begging Allie not to leave her. Allie coldly replies, "I'm not like your sister, Hedy. Not anymore. I'm like you now." Graham regains consciousness and assists Allie. Allie drags Hedy off him and flees, but Hedy shoots her in the shoulder. After seemingly strangling Allie to death, Hedy drags her towards the incinerator, but Allie recovers and escapes. Screaming for Allie to come out, Hedy lashes out at a mirror inside a closet. Allie stabs her in the back with a screwdriver, and they struggle before a horrified and saddened Allie watches as Hedy dies.
In an epilogue, Allie narrates that she has finally moved on. She forgives Hedy for killing Sam, and tries to forgive herself for Hedy's death, stating that Hedy's downfall is an example of how survivor's guilt can destroy a person. The film finishes with a photo of both Allie and Hedy's faces combined into one.
