While many of us are used to seeing the lighter side of Anna Kendrick in films such as the hit musical comedy franchise Pitch Perfect, it seems she has entered her more serious era in her latest project, Woman of the Hour. Based on a true story, Woman of the Hour highlights the incredulous story of serial killer Rodney Alcala appearing as an eligible bachelor on the television series The Dating Game in 1978 and the women he victimized for almost a decade. Kendrick is doing double duty this time around, starring as the lead character as well making her directorial debut.
Woman of the Hour had been in production limbo for a couple of years, with Kendrick’s name being attached for the longest. When all the other pieces finally fell into place for the film to move forward, there was one huge problem: there was no director. However, Kendrick had become so closely tied to the story that she volunteered to pick up the mantle of director and she delivered in spades.
Kendrick plays Cheryl Bradshaw, a young actress struggling to make it big in Los Angeles at a time when actresses were treated as little more than cattle. Her agent eventually helps Cheryl land a spot on the The Dating Game, in which a bachelorette gets to ask series of questions to three male contestants that are concealed on the other side of a wall. In Cheryl’s instance, Alcala turned out to be one of the men.
While the main focus is on Cheryl’s story and how she deftly navigates the world of entertainment and dealing with the adoration of the unknown serial killer, the film intersects with various women who have crossed paths with Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), most of the time resulting in the woman’s death at this hands. Even though a few of the scenes are set in the desert, the close encounters Alcala shares with his victims are suspenseful and taught, almost to the point of making the viewer feel claustrophobic. The film does an excellent job at showcasing the societal injustices of a criminal system that was in no way designed to protect victims, not that it’s much better today. Unlike recent projects that featured the lives of serial killers, like Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Kendrick goes out of her way to keep the focus squarely on the women of the story.
Kendrick and Zovatto are aided by a multitalented cast, including Nicolette Robinson (The Affair), Kelley Jakle (Pitch Perfect), Kathryn Gallagher (You), and Autumn Best. In particular Robinson’s emotional work as the best friend of one of Alcala’s victims who finds herself in the audience while the show is being taped and Best’s nuanced performance as the teen runaway who thinks fast on her feet in order to escape Alcala’s clutches are standouts.
Woman of the Hour is currently streaming on Netflix.
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