The Roommate


The Roommate is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Christian E. Christiansen and written by Sonny Mallhi. The film stars Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Danneel Harris, Matt Lanter, and Aly Michalka. It was theatrically released on February 4, 2011. The film is inspired by the 1992 film Single White Female.

Plot

Sara Matthews is starting her freshman year of college. She meets Tracy, Stephen – her love interest – and Rebecca, her college roommate who coincidentally looks almost exactly like her. The girls begin to bond and Rebecca learns that Sara had an older sister, Emily, who died when Sara was nine, and an ex-boyfriend, Jason, who keeps calling her in attempts to reconcile.
As time goes on, Rebecca's obsession with Sara grows, which causes her to drive away anyone who could come between them. Claiming that she is a bad influence, Rebecca attacks Tracy in the shower, pins her down, rips out her belly-button ring, and threatens to kill her unless she stays away from Sara. Tracy moves to another dorm, fearful of Rebecca. An old friend of Sara's named Irene, invites Sara to move in with her when Sara's cat Cuddles is discovered. Rebecca then kills Cuddles by putting her in the dryer and lies to Sara that the cat ran away. Rebecca then inflicts injuries upon herself and says she was assaulted by a thug. Sara feels bad for Rebecca and decides to spend Thanksgiving with her. When Sara's philandering fashion design professor, Roberts, kisses her, Rebecca plans to get the professor out of the picture by seducing him while recording their dialogue on a tape recorder to make it sound like he was trying to rape her.
During her stay, Sara overhears a conversation between Rebecca and her father, hinting Rebecca has had trouble making friends in the past. Rebecca's mother mentions that Rebecca is supposed to be taking medication. She and Stephen later find a bottle of Zyprexa pills, used to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The bottle is full, implying that Rebecca has not been taking the pills. Sara decides to move in with Irene. Irene goes to a club where she sees Rebecca. They kiss passionately in the bathroom, and Irene takes Rebecca back to her place. The following morning, Sara goes to Irene's apartment, but she is not there.
Rebecca gets Sara's sister's name tattooed in the same place on her breast as Sara, saying that Sara can now think of Rebecca as her sister. Sara realizes that Rebecca is obsessed with her and packs all her things, except her sister's necklace, which she cannot find. Jason arrives at Sara's dorm and slips a note under her door, saying that he wants to see her. Rebecca reads the note, impersonates Sara with her sister's necklace and tattoo, and dyes her hair to look like Sara. She goes to Jason's hotel room and stabs him to death.
Sara gets a text from Irene saying she needs to meet with her right away, and she calls Stephen so he can meet her there. She arrives and finds a gagged Irene with her arms spread and handcuffed to each side of the headboard of a bed, and wearing only a tank top and underwear. Rebecca points a gun at Sara, proclaiming her love and loyalty as she slaps her. Rebecca tearfully reveals that she was responsible for what happened to Tracy, Cuddles, Professor Roberts, Irene, and Jason, and that she did it all to win Sara's friendship. As Irene lies helplessly cuffed to the bed, Rebecca pulls out a plastic bag and places it over Irene's head, saying that she and Sara will always be together. Rebecca slaps Sara to the floor as she tries to save Irene. Rebecca checks on the fallen Sara, who slaps the gun from Rebecca's hand. Rebecca reaches for the revolver but struggles with Sara, who stops her from killing Irene. The gun gets free, and Rebecca winds up outside the room while Sara quickly locks the door.
Sara pulls the bag from Irene's head and removes her gag. Sara tries to get Irene free, but the cuffs are locked and she does not have a key. Sara tries to call for help, but the phone is dead. Bound and helpless, Irene pleads for Sara to save herself while Rebecca screams maniacally outside the room. Sara tries to get out the window to get help. Rebecca finally shoots the lock, breaks into the room, and aims the gun at the helpless Irene. Before she can shoot Irene, Stephen returns and tries to wrestle the gun from Rebecca, who wildly fires it and nearly hits Sara with a shot, causing her to fall out of the window. With Sara hanging desperately onto a curtain, Irene looks on helplessly and hopelessly tries to get free as Rebecca and Stephen continue to fight at the foot of the bed. Stephen finally subdues Rebecca and saves Sara but is knocked unconscious from behind by Rebecca. Rebecca then saves Sara from outside the window. Sara grabs the gun and tries to shoot Rebecca, but the gun is empty. An enraged Rebecca attacks Sara and tries to strangle her, but is eventually stabbed by Sara with a box cutter, killing her. Sara takes her necklace back and lays beside Stephen as the bound Irene sighs in relief.
Sara moves back into her dorm and moves the extra bed out of her room with the help of Stephen, proclaiming that she does not want a roommate for a while.

Cast

Sonny Mallhi first thought of shooting the film in New York City but it was eventually shot on location at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and at Loyola Marymount University. Leighton Meester was originally set to play Sara but was replaced by Minka Kelly and Leighton played Rebecca. Billy Zane and Frances Fisher had both starred together in Titanic thirteen years earlier, though in this film they shared no scenes.

Release

Box office

The film was originally planned to be released on September 17, 2010, but was moved to February 4, 2011. The trailer was shown with Devil and Burlesque.
Opening in 2,534 theaters, the film grossed $15.6 million its opening weekend to take first place at the box office. Its distributor estimated that females under the age of 21 accounted for two-thirds of its audience. At the end of its run in 2011 the film grossed $37,300,107 in the United States and Canada and $15,245,600 in other countries for a worldwide total of $52,545,707.

Home media

The Roommate was released on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and digital download in North America on May 17, 2011.

Reception

The Roommate was given negative reviews by critics. As of March 14, 2020, the film held a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 85 reviews with a consensus: "Devoid of chills, thrills, or even cheap titillation, The Roommate isn't even bad enough to be good." CinemaScore polls indicated a "B−" rating from audiences.
Keith Staskiewicz of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D, saying it "is really just a far-below-par thriller that desperately wishes it were a different movie – a longing it shares with the audience," but praises Meester for bringing "the slightest trace of something fascinating to her role. When she smiles, it's perfectly located between a sweet display of affection and a snarling warning." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it a half star, stating that "The Roommate – the umpteenth uncredited remake of 1992's Single White Female – sucks bad, real bad" and that "Danish director Christian E. Christiansen has no flair for suspense". Meester's performance garnered praise from other top critics, including the Los Angeles Times, which states: "Here, her performance often has the feeling of a sports car in neutral. When she punches it for quick changes of tone from manic to wounded or around the bend, she shows how much more she is capable of."

Accolades

Controversy

Some of the promotional posters and displays for the film used the Christy Administration Building from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas as its backdrop. The college administration voiced concern that permission to use the photograph of the building was not properly obtained and investigated the legality of its use.
Primary concerns hinged that the image of the college could be damaged, while other concerns were that the college's primary iconic image was being used for promotion of an unrelated business venture.
Though the film successfully earned $15.6 million in receipts to top the box office during its debut weekend in the United States, concerns continued. By that time, the image of the building had been replaced on the film's official website and on subsequent promotional material. The photo of the building reportedly was licensed from iStockPhoto based in Calgary, Alberta. As of February 8, 2011, no lawsuits had been filed but discussions had taken place.
Students at the school reported "mixed feelings" about the topic – some believed that it may have been helpful for the college and others reported that they saw how it could have been harmful to the school's image.