‘Woman of the Hour’ Netflix Review: A Solid Directorial Debut from Anna Kendrick

Acquired by Netflix following the film’s premiere at TIFF in 2023, Woman of the Hour is the directorial debut from Oscar-nominated actress Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Up In The Air), largely known for her popular franchise work in the Twilight, Pitch Perfect, & Trolls series of films. Kendrick stars, directs, & produces the highly touted Hollywood Black List script from screenwriter Ian McDonald (Some Freaks) based on the stranger-than-fiction story of one woman’s encounter with serial killer & sexual predator Rodney Alcala on an episode of “The Dating Game” in the late 1970s.

Set largely in the greater Los Angeles area, the film follows the terrifying exploits of Alcala (played by It Follows star Daniel Zovatto) as he gains the trust of vulnerable women before ultimately committing his horrific acts upon them. Running parallel on a collision course with the monster that is Acala, the story also follows the life of Sheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick), a smart, young actress struggling to make her mark in the sexist, male-dominated Hollywood system of the period.

Soon, Sheryl will land what her manager thinks will be a great chance for exposure: a role as the bachelorette in an episode of “The Dating Game”. While she dodges condescension & lurid gazes from the host, her greatest challenge is soon to come as she comes face to face with her chosen suitor, Bachelor #3 Rodney Acala.

While that almost unbelievable moment of television is the hook for many true crime & horror/thriller fans to flock to the film, Woman of the Hour is carefully crafted to portray how the pervasive culture of toxic masculinity influenced and abetted the ability for Acala to get away with his crimes, get on a dating game show, and live his lifestyle out loud without much resistance. Whether he’s flaunting his photos of scantily clad underage girls while holding court in an office full of journalists or laughing along with detectives after being questioned, Acala rarely seems to be in danger of being found out.

In contrast, Sheryl and many of the women portrayed in the film always seem to be dodging unwanted attention and imminent peril when they aren’t being completely dismissed by men in power. No greater example of this is the character of Laura (played by Nicolette Robinson) who accompanies her boyfriend and his parents as audience members at the infamous taping. She recognizes Alcala as the creepy photographer suspected of raping & murdering her friend after a beachside party. When she confides in her boyfriend what she’s seen, he tries to downplay it, telling her she could be mistaken and to trust the vetting process of the show. When she tries to contact a producer to alert them, security makes her wait for a meeting that never would happen.

Kendrick and McDonald strike a well-balanced narrative of unflinching savagery & the culture that allowed it to happen. The film’s construction definitely nods to David Fincher’s Zodiac as that story confronts the murders head-on while running side by side with the investigators & reporters trying to track down the elusive Zodiac killer. Woman of the Hour is not about a manhunt or building a case, nor does it really sensationalize or admire its serial killer subject; it simply shows how women try to survive – whether from a friend who’s trying to sleep with you at a bar or a deranged photographer who’s finally got you alone.
While the thematic storytelling and inventive script may be the film’s most positive traits, the portrayal of Rodney Acala by Daniel Zovatto might be next in line. His ability to come off as witty, curious, and caring one minute to preying upon that intimacy with an icy stare and believable rage the next is extremely effective in a film that needed an anchor of edginess to build towards its inevitable collision.

Overall, Woman of the Hour is a solid directorial debut from Anna Kendrick from an even stronger script from Ian McDonald. Recognizing the role of cultural misogyny in its creation, of not only the persistence of a serial killer such as Acala but the confluence of events to get to the bizarre twist of fate on the show, is a clever subversion of the genre and a deeper, more creative look at something that could have been cheap & exploitative.

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Watch Woman of the Hour If You Like

• Zodiac
• Alice, Darling
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
• Strange Darling

MVP of Woman of the Hour

Anna Kendrick

Don’t ever say she can’t because she just did.

As a first time director playing in a genre she’s not known for in her acting career, many would doubt the success of a film like Woman of the Hour from the affable, likable, adaptable franchise success story that is Anna Kendrick, especially when she has to direct herself in a leading role. But, not only did she do an admirable job at the helm, but she clearly had the vision for what this film needed and ultimately what would serve its audience.

Originally signed on as an actress first, Kendrick saw the potential in the script and had a tone in mind from the very beginning. Script writer Ian McDonald has said in interviews that Kendrick wanted a blend of Zodiac and No Country For Old Men for the film’s look & feel and had notes for him to make the female victims less powerful and more evasive & diffusing to show what women would really do in the face of potential danger from men in one-on-one situations.

With such a strong handle of character & performance in her acting career, it should come as no surprise that she is a quick study in the art of everything that encompasses the role of director. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Kendrick & McDonald tag team a genre subverting true crime story that cares as much about its subject and it does its environment.