Woman of The Hour Review

Rodney Alcala was convicted of murdering seven women and girls between 1968 and 1979, but some estimate that his victims numbered more than 130. Woman of The Hour hones in on one of the most brazen public television appearances of all time: his stint as a contestant on The Dating Game. Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air, Pitch Perfect) is both behind and in front of the camera in her directorial debut, playing struggling actress Sheryl as she makes a last attempt at making it big in LA: taking a guest spot on a dating show. As she gets to know the bachelor’s offer, she is unaware that the most charming of the trio is looking to claim her heart in a more literal sense.

Kendrick is effortlessly charming in the role, but Sheryl being the focus of the story doesn’t necessarily make sense. It’s the flashiest of the cases – a serial killer being brash enough to go on national television, on a dating show no less, is so ludicrous that it begs to be fictionalised – but the lack of interest the film has in building out her character makes the end of her story feel somewhat anticlimactic. At the film’s close, she doesn’t know that she escaped a notorious serial killer; she just knows she avoided an encounter with a creep.

Although perhaps that’s the point. Sheryl is one of many people who encountered Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) and sensed there was something off about him, but he either did nothing or was ignored by law enforcement. At the taping of The Dating Game is Laura (Nicolette Robertson), who recognises Alcala from a beach trip the year before – and suspects him of having raped and murdered her friend. When she voices this concern, her partner (Max Lloyd-Jones) first gently suggests she’s mistaken. “If this guy did what you’re implying, then wouldn’t he be in jail and not on a TV show?” The production team, and later the police, refuse to listen. At the end of the film, a title card informs us that the alarm had been raised about Alcala for more than a decade before his arrest.

The film does include short vignettes of some of Alcala’s other victims. Presumably included to demonstrate how prolific of a killer he was, these insertions don’t help the pacing of the film. They show us Alcola’s MO, but give little insight into his psychology or his victims and, for the most part, just break up the central narrative. An exception is Alcala’s final victim, a teenage runaway played by Autumn Best when we get a more complex story and a glimpse into Alcala’s character. All in all, though, it’s difficult for the tension to build up when timelines are switched between so often.

The undercurrent of misogyny that runs through the film is set to just the right degree. Offhand comments on women’s appearances, the fact that every job Sheryl goes for requires her being comfortable with nudity, and the victim-blaming comments from background characters as they casually discuss crimes against women; all set the scene for these horrific acts to go unpunished. In the first scene, a woman recalls an ex-partner with the comment “I knew he was risky… everyone’s risky”. Later, staff on The Dating Game lament the fact that there are no decent guys around anyone. As Sheryl chats with the makeup ladies, one of them tells her that all the women on the show are asking male contestants the same question, in different ways: “Which one of you is going to hurt me?” While the foreshadowing might feel a little over the top, these comments and conversations will resonate with women across the generations. It’s a jarring reminder of how little has changed.

Several moments in the film, most notably a scene towards the end of Sheryl’s story as she walks across a dark parking lot, are terrifying. Not just within the context of the film, but because so many viewers will have experienced the same fear, imagining that the worst might happen. This is a chilling reminder that it could. Kendrick’s performance in this moment is a stand-out moment of the film, the subtlety of her losing the upper hand and the anger and vulnerability in her eyes as she drives away are both heartbreaking and impressive.

There’s nothing hugely original in Woman of The Hour, but strong performances and adept execution make for a compelling, and often upsetting, watch. Further directorial work from Kendrick will no doubt build on this impressive debut.