Movie Release Date: February 2011 Run Time: 91 minutes Director: Christian E. Christiansen Rating: PG-13 Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ College Movie
The Roommate displays the typical phobia that most freshmen students, well most college students face when they are put with a unknown person to be their roommate. Sara kicks the movie off when she installs into her dorm and meets new friends easily. This scene is realistic because as a freshman, you want to new people make friends to be involved on campus and have a social life. A scene that is particularly important is that later that night after she installs into her room, her new friend Tracy invites her to a fraternity party. Fraternity parties is common among college students, which is an issue. In some cases dangerous to females. Females are warned to be careful at these parties because males tend to purposely get females drunk to take advantage of them. However, one male actually helps Sara take drunk Tracy back to the dorm. Although it is unheard of, it demises the stereotypes that all fraternity males want to get females drunk. The male that helps Sara, Stephen, has a a real interest in Sara. This is important because just because there is a kind male to help, it is good to keep in mind that not all males are like that. Another scene is that is important in this film is that of Sara’s fashion design teacher want to have sexual relations with her. This kind of student-teacher relationship is not unheard of and it is a prominent issue not only with females, but also with males. From the beginning of the meeting with Sara’s teacher, the audience can notice that the teacher has a special interest in Sara, creating dramatic irony. As the class progresses, Sara receives an unwanted kiss from her teacher and she walks out on him. She had no interest in her teacher in that manner.
The important issue that is brought out is that she does not report the teacher to the head of the school or to the dean of students, which is what Rebecca tells her to do. She declines and asks Rebecca to keep the incident to themselves. This gives a perfect example that typical students do or would do in this situation. Students out of fear do not tell another person who can have the power to remove them. This scene is to show that students need to speak up and tell someone superior to fix the problem. Rebecca ends up getting the teacher fired because she is upset that Sara was upset. The third important scene is when Sara finally sees Rebecca for who she is, a psychopath who is obsessed with her. The director is satirical with how young adults do not understand or see warning signs until it is too late. It is typical stereotype that college students, young teenagers, and adults put themselves in danger without meaning to because lack of comprehension or experience. There were plenty warning signs that Rebecca was weird and a bit psychopathic, but she completely ignores them until the Thanksgiving dinner with Rebecca’s parents. This is the third most important scene because that show display that college students should be cautious of everyone and not to completely trust your friends. Three important issues: Fraternity parties, sexual relations with teachers, and being openly trusting with people were presented in this movies and was well demonstrated.
Another aspect besides the college issues that was discussed is the actual film work of this movie. Overall, the movie was fair representation of college students life. Scenes that was film realistically was the partying and clubbing of Sara and her friends, the classroom, romantic relationship, and how college students feel about their parents and not wanting to go back home. Rebeca psychopathic behavior was like the generalized stereotype that involves being kind and caring at the beginning and slowly escalates to the point where someone is dead. She plays her role well, including be able to have the behavior of a psychopath and thinking what she is doing is what is best for Sara and herself. Sara’s character was also play well. Sara was your mix of a good student that also parties and drinks. She plays a well managed student and because of her kindness and being naive, she fails to see the warning signs of Rebecca’s craziness until it is too late. The characters played their roles very well. Most of the scene were filmed well except for two which I did not like. The first seen being that when Sara was having sex with her boyfriend and Rebecca was having phone sex with Sara’s ex-boyfriend, Jason. The phone sex scene was unnecessary and pointless. It should just be focused on Sara’s sex scene and then Rebecca just answering the phone to tell Jason to leave Sara alone. Another scene that needed work was the most thrilling scene of the movie where Irene, Stephen, and Sara struggle for their lives against Rebecca. The scene needed more action and thrilling than the scene filmed. It should of involved more fighting (punches and fists) and blood to illustrate the objects that the characters were getting hit with. This scene needed more detail to make the audience want to jump out of their seats. I was expecting more thriller than what was presented in this movie.
My rating of this movie would be a 70% out of 100% because of the thrilling scene that needed more thrill and action.