Single White Female
Having recently split from her fiancé, Allison Jones welcomes new roommate Hedra Carlson. The young women quickly form a bond, but soon Allison begins to notice not all’s well with her new tenant.
Despite a moderate budget of $16.0M, Single White Female became a financial success, earning $48.0M worldwide—a 200% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Single White Female (1992) showcases deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Barbet Schroeder's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 47 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (2% through the runtime) establishes Allie Jones lives in a beautiful New York apartment with her fiancé Sam Rawson, working as a successful software designer with her own business and seemingly stable relationship.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Allie discovers Sam's affair with his ex-wife, shattering her trust. She kicks him out, leaving her alone in an apartment she can't afford by herself.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Allie actively chooses to accept Hedy as her roommate, inviting this stranger into her home and life, crossing the threshold into a new living arrangement., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Allie discovers Hedy has gotten the same haircut and is dressing like her. False defeat: what seemed like a supportive friendship is revealed as dangerous obsession. The stakes escalate from uncomfortable to threatening., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 80 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Allie discovers Sam's murdered body and realizes the full extent of Hedy's psychosis. Her former life is completely destroyed - her fiancé dead, her safety gone, trapped with a killer. Whiff of death is literal., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 85 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Allie realizes she must fight back and use Hedy's obsession against her. She synthesizes her understanding of Hedy's psychology with her own will to survive, choosing to actively confront rather than flee., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Single White Female's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Single White Female against these established plot points, we can identify how Barbet Schroeder utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Single White Female within the thriller genre.
Barbet Schroeder's Structural Approach
Among the 6 Barbet Schroeder films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Single White Female represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Barbet Schroeder filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional thriller films include Eye for an Eye, Lake Placid and Operation Finale. For more Barbet Schroeder analyses, see Murder by Numbers, Kiss of Death and Reversal of Fortune.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Allie Jones lives in a beautiful New York apartment with her fiancé Sam Rawson, working as a successful software designer with her own business and seemingly stable relationship.
Theme
A colleague or acquaintance warns Allie about being too trusting or mentions the danger of letting strangers too close, foreshadowing the film's exploration of identity and boundaries.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Allie's professional life as a software designer, her relationship with Sam, and the discovery of his infidelity through a chance encounter, leading to their breakup.
Disruption
Allie discovers Sam's affair with his ex-wife, shattering her trust. She kicks him out, leaving her alone in an apartment she can't afford by herself.
Resistance
Allie debates whether to take Sam back, struggles with loneliness, and decides to find a roommate. She interviews several candidates, including the seemingly perfect Hedy Carlson.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Allie actively chooses to accept Hedy as her roommate, inviting this stranger into her home and life, crossing the threshold into a new living arrangement.
Mirror World
Hedy and Allie bond as roommates and friends. Hedy represents what Allie thinks she needs: support, companionship, and loyalty - a mirror that will ultimately reveal darker truths about dependence and identity.
Premise
The "roommate thriller" premise plays out: Allie and Hedy grow closer, Hedy helps Allie with her business and personal life, but subtle warning signs emerge as Hedy begins copying Allie's appearance and behavior.
Midpoint
Allie discovers Hedy has gotten the same haircut and is dressing like her. False defeat: what seemed like a supportive friendship is revealed as dangerous obsession. The stakes escalate from uncomfortable to threatening.
Opposition
Hedy's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and dangerous. She kills Allie's dog, seduces and murders Sam, and violently attacks anyone who threatens her connection to Allie. Allie tries to escape but Hedy tightens her grip.
Collapse
Allie discovers Sam's murdered body and realizes the full extent of Hedy's psychosis. Her former life is completely destroyed - her fiancé dead, her safety gone, trapped with a killer. Whiff of death is literal.
Crisis
Allie processes the horror of her situation, realizes she's completely alone with a murderer who wants to become her, and must find the strength to survive when all help has been eliminated.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Allie realizes she must fight back and use Hedy's obsession against her. She synthesizes her understanding of Hedy's psychology with her own will to survive, choosing to actively confront rather than flee.
Synthesis
Final confrontation between Allie and Hedy. Allie uses her knowledge of the apartment and Hedy's psychological vulnerabilities to fight back, culminating in a violent struggle for survival.
Transformation
Allie survives, having killed Hedy in self-defense. She emerges traumatized but stronger, transformed from someone who trusted too easily into someone who has reclaimed her identity and autonomy through violence.