Woman of the Hour: The true story of a serial killer who appeared on a 1970s dating show

Woman of the Hour. (Image: AGC Studios)

25 Oct 2024

Truth is stranger, and more disturbing, than fiction in real-life thriller Woman of the Hour, marking a powerful directorial debut from actress Anna Kendrick, who also stars in this serial killer tale.

There will probably be those who roll credits on Woman of the Hour with a sense of relief that the real-life events depicted in actress Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut took place well over 40 years ago.

It was a different time, some people will claim, things have changed a lot since then. Chances are, this response won’t be coming from any women in the audience, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODUdpwddTQk

Bouncing back and forth over the decade in question, the action of true crime thriller Woman of the Hour is anchored by a hard-to-believe event: the time that serial killer Rodney Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto) was so arrogant about the chances of being caught that he appeared on a popular TV dating show in the middle of one of his rape and murder sprees.

In that particular episode of The Dating Game, aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) had to choose between Alcala and two other bachelors, who trailed behind the sociopath in eloquence, smarts and charm.

Even if you don’t know how events played out in reality, there’s a strong sense that Woman of The Hour, written by Ian McDonald, avoids sensationalism. It doesn’t need to exaggerate or go off script: simply by holding up a mirror to women’s everyday anxieties, the film is an uncomfortable and frequently chilling watch. It’s also a thematically dense 94 minutes, proving Pitch Perfect star Kendrick to be a sensitive and insightful filmmaker as she explores the subject matter with nuance.

At the same time, she stops just short of showing the crimes in graphic detail for anyone triggered by depictions of gender-based violence.

We’ve already seen Zoe Kravitz achieve something similar this year with Blink Twice. There, the actress-turned-director-and-screenwriter also used a thriller to explore the grimmest side of the female experience with razor-sharpness.

Like Kravitz, Kendrick makes similarly smart decisions in Woman of the Hour, although with little of Blink Twice’s humour, for obvious reasons. Primarily, the new film spotlights how predators exploit women’s societal conditioning to be “nice” and “accommodating”, encouraging them to push down their discomfort and desire to please others – typically men.

Parallel to this, Alcala is given moments of screen time to express panic and tearfulness. That may seem like a strange sympathetic choice for a figure who would strangle women, then revive them to torture them some more, but it ensures he remains human in the eyes of the audience. He’s no icy Michael Myers boogeyman. In fact, Alcala appears as just one step away from the men who objectify Cheryl, who touch her without consent and emotionally manipulate her into a state of demure compliance – and these are the good, socially upstanding guys.

Woman of the Hour marks a powerful directorial debut from actress Anna Kendrick, who also stars. (Image: AGC Studios)

There are horror films, and then there are Horror Films. True crime thriller Woman of the Hour is the latter. (Image: AGC Studios)

Coming across like a younger Vincent D’Onofrio due to his imposing physical presence and quick-to-activate sense of menace, Zovatto does excellent work. That applies to the cast of Woman of the Hour across the board, though, with a particular standout being newcomer Autumn Best as Amy, a spirited runaway whom Alcala pursues.

This isn’t a movie centred on the male killer. Woman of the Hour devotes time to each of Alcala’s victims, or, rather, the ones singled out for the film. Having positioned himself as a sensitive photographer, Alcala prompts his targets to tell their life story, to share their dreams and ambitions.

While he will callously snuff out their futures, viewers see these women as real people as opposed to simply a statistic – photos on a true crime website or a name dropped in a podcast with no further context. Even if they only appear for five minutes, Kendrick ensures each victim gets their chance to be a Woman of the Hour – it is the least they deserve after what was taken from them.

Daniel Zovatto plays serial killer Rodney Alcala in Woman of the Hour. Image: AGC Studios

Some things don’t really change when it comes to the negative side of female experience, and Woman of the Hour is a powerful indictment of that fact. Image: AGC Studios

Importantly, there is also no victim shaming. Woman of the Hour acknowledges what women must do to survive. It would have been easy to present female assertiveness as a solution in every scene, but that isn’t the case in Kendrick’s film. Demonstrations of confidence and decisive action may lead to positive outcomes for some characters, but that isn’t the case for everyone. Some experience no change, even with loving, supportive men backing them up. On the flip side, it’s one moment of apologetic submissiveness, portrayed as an act of courage, that ultimately opens the door to justice.

Woman of the Hour is a powerful film, but it’s not an easy watch.

If you’ve ever crossed a dark street or parking lot, well aware of a man apparently shadowing you, or if you’ve found yourself having to defuse male rage armed only with a polite smile, you know what you can expect for an hour and a half here. DM

Woman of the Hour. (Image: AGC Studios)

Woman of the Hour came to South African cinemas on 4 October 2024. On 18 October, just two weeks later, it arrived on Netflix for home viewing.

This review was first published on Pfangirl.

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