Woman of the Hour, Anna Kendrick Directed It

If you are not a fan of Anna Kendrick, that’s okay. I can see which attributes might be irritating to some. However, a long history of watching Pitch Perfect repeatedly means I will forever be a fan. Kendrick directs Woman of the Hour. She also stars in the film. It is based on the true story of Rodney (Daniel Zovatto) Alcala, an American serial killer. So now we have Anna Kendrick and a true crime serial killer.

Hooking straight into the action, the opening scenes are brutally cruel.

In another part of town, Kendrick’s Shelly faces a relatable scenario. It is oddly in line with the current status of online dating. Shelley hates it too.

But in an attempt to reach her goal of being in television, she agrees to go on a dating show under the cloak of “any exposure is good exposure.”

As an Australian, Mother of Movies, watched “Perfect Match” on television free to air back in the day.

Again, Woman of the Hour reflects the dating world standards. They are low. It lightens the load of minimum standards. This happens by applying a witty yet emasculating barrage of questions to the show’s unsuspecting contestants.

Woman of the Hour pivots toward addressing my chronic fatigue about masochistic male subjugation. First, it shows that, compared to being called a silly woman, asking men, ” What is a girl for?” is an enjoyable exercise.

Is it just me or is everyone talking about how toxic being in show business is? The crimes in this title have a historical nature. But onscreen scripted words read that Alcala was suspected of having murdered about 130 women. He was only convicted of killing 5.

The Dating Game Killer vs. the Woman of the Hour

Woman of the Hour criticizes the inadequacy of all the police and security personnel that could have stopped these crimes.

The survivors feel a lot of guilt. They regret not making more noise about having crossed paths with Rodney. But even hindsight doesn’t fix the fact that they wouldn’t have listened anyway.

Killers like Ted Bundy avoided persecution for a time too. These and many more serial killers waltzed around because people didn’t do their jobs. Ethics towards standards of care was treated in this way only 50 years ago.

Aside from highlighting that men sometimes feel entitled, Woman of the Hour muddies some areas of Shelley’s sensibilities. Not necessarily a bad thing though, Perhaps we should have noticed that Shelley often ignored red flags. She also tended to go against her intuition.

The serial killer’s true story film is streaming on Netflix. Fortunately, it isn’t trying to make a statement about feminism. Even if it pokes at the absurdity of interactions that leave more than scar sometimes.

If anything it reinforces those tiny moments we as individuals notice that alert us to danger. And to heed the warning.

Where Are the Survivors Now?

They say we frequently find ourselves in close proximity to those with a sinister past. Individuals we think we know, carrying their own shadows of darkness or inherited malevolence.

Woman of the Hour makes you confront the unsettling reality that it could have happened to you.

For a compelling insight into Rodney and the lives of his survivors, read the People article. It reveals where the survivors are now.

Performances are excellent with Daniel Zovatto’s steely gazed Rodney creating a menacing force.

Woman of the Hour is a decent watch. It features strong violent scenes. There is also some comedic relief by director and star Anna Kendrick’s character and direction.

Almost too warm for this type of film, her presence was at odds with the dark tone. It was nice to swing from dark to light. This shift gave more impact to the unsettling scenes in between. I read many details about the real Alcala. Compared to those details, Kendrick only touched the surface of this killer’s brutality.

Cinematography is both fine-tuned and used with purpose. One of my favorite scenes is when Shelly finds herself in a bar at closing time. It’s easily relatable. She then has to walk to her car. It’s dark, and the car park is empty. A guy she just turned down is going to walk her.

Captured with a knowing lens, just how easy it is to find yourself in a scary situation.

Mother of Movies has loads of serial killer horror movies to recommend. For true crime buffs, watch Girls to Buy | Best Australian True Crime Films | Silhouette | Best Netflix True Crime or Lyvia’s House.

The film was released on October 18th, and premiered in September 8th, 2024 at TIFF.

Woman of the Hour cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson and Tony Hale.

Woman of the Hour is rated

3.75 Smooth Operators out of 5