User reviews

This film spoke to me for a couple of reasons. I was a college student during the time depicted in this film, and I remember very well how naïve many young women were about how manipulative, conniving, and dangerous some men could be. I'm fortunate that nothing happened to me, because I certainly took some risks in situations where I should have known better. And then when something like a sexual crime did happen to a young woman, law enforcement didn't always take it seriously. They often thought the girl was asking for it because, for example, she was wearing a short skirt and walking alone at night.

The pacing of this film is deliberate and intense, and it switches back and forth between time frames and victims. I found it a little annoying at first, but it all made sense at the end. I thought Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zovatto played their roles extremely well. Zovatto came across as creepy AF. A few points are fictionalized, of course, and I'm not sure how much. I did some reading about Rodney Alcala, and the way he was apprehended is essentially accurate. If you can deal with the slow pace of this film, it's well worth the watch.

This film is a highly dramatized, poorly paced retelling of true events. While I did enjoy how the movie handled sexism and violence towards women, and while there were several really effective sequences, the overall product just falls kind of flat.

The movie bounces around between Alcala with various victims, Sheryl on the dating show, and Sheryl in her personal life. The movie can't seem to decide if it wants to focus on Sheryl, the dating show filming, or Alcala. Although it's a neat factoid that Alcala was on a dating show, that really doesn't work for the crux of an entire film unless you're going to have people's lungs exploding and heads spinning a la Late Night with the Devil.

Not a bad movie but wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.

I thought the acting and directing were excellent. Really impressed with Anna Kendrick. The movie was very good. I wish it was a little longer and had a few more twists. A few scenes were really amazing including the part where they show the dating game and the part afterwards. Saw the movies today at the TIFF and seemed as though that everyone really enjoyed it despite the serious subject matter. It would have been so great of there was no strike and the actors could have taken part today. One of the producers was there and read a note from Anna which was well received. I would recommend seeing this film.

This film does a good job of revealing the ways psychopaths often use charm to lure their victims. I appreciate the fact that the film is by no means a typical horror film or a typical psychological thriller. Most of the violent acts in this film are only portrayed via the events leading up to them (or after them), and so much of the actual violence is indirectly portrayed rather than actually being shown. It keeps things light enough -- and doesn't show enough actual violence -- in order for the film to remain watchable but at the same time, it is often very unsettling and disturbing. The scene in the parking lot after the taping of the Dating Game really perfectly conveyed the same feeling that the character played by Anna would be feeling at the time. It's as though I could literally feel her own fear and uneasiness. I think Anna's acting and directing in this film were superb, as was all of the acting in general. What I appreciate most about this film is its underlying message(s) or themes regarding how women can so easily fall prey to the darker side of the male ego and how manipulative some men can be when it comes to women, such as exploiting the innocence or vulnerability of women for their own selfish gain. I also appreciate how it shoes that society in general (and especially back then) actually encourages and often condones this kind of treatment toward women -- dehumanizing and objectifying them. And as the film shows, even intelligent women are susceptible to the charm of the psychopath -- and society alone can render them vulnerable. This message was not only delivered via the behavior and violence of "Rodney" but also via the behavior of a few other male characters in the film. Anyone hoping for a typical serial killer film is going to be disappointed with this one. But anyone hoping for something with more underlying depth will hopefully appreciate it.

I've always liked Anna Kendrick, I consider her a good actress, but until now she had played roles mainly in comedies or dramatic films, so I was surprised to see her not only as the protagonist, but also as the director of a dark thriller based on a true story and I was also surprised to see that as a director, Anna did a good job.

The film flows very well, the tension is constant and the cast does a great job, from Kendrick to Daniel Zovatto, absolutely perfect in the role of the crazy Rodney Alcala.

Zovatto fits perfectly into the role of this psychopath and the moments in which he tries to charm women before killing them, really give you the shivers, also thanks, as mentioned, to the solid and no-frills direction of Kendrick.

In conclusion, a very interesting film that I recommend, among the few truly good films released this year on Netflix.

I ended up being really frustrated watching this given the fact that I thought it had a really good hook. In the end the whole thing just ends up feeling like a series of short films only a couple of which I found to be engaging and when put together into one film it just ends up feeling repetitive. That's not to say it isn't effective, it is absolutely appropriately brutal its depiction of violence towards women but also in how it portrays the sexism of the 70's. The main thing that intrigued me about this movie was the idea of the game show portion and that ended feeling really undercooked and in the overall narrative it didn't ultimately amount to much. There are very effective sequences and it's very handsomely shot but it's so uneven that I couldn't help but feel disappointed in the final product.

Greetings again from the darkness. As a lonely woman, being told you have the look of a model is a welcome compliment. As a runaway living on the streets, having a young man show an interest in you is a welcome development. As a single woman moving into an apartment and having a charming young man help move your furniture is a welcome occurrence. As a struggling actress, getting cast on a hit show is a welcome gig. What do all of these situations have in common? They feature vulnerable women who crossed paths with Rodney Alcala, an infamous serial rapist and murderer. This is the first feature film directed by uber-talented Anna Kendrick and it's a doozy.

Director Kendrick also stars as Cheryl Bradshaw, the struggling actress whom we first meet in one of her endless rounds of auditions where she doesn't get cast due to her physical appearance. It's one of a series of misogynistic scenarios that play out in this film written by Ian MacDonald and based on the true story of evil Rodney Alcala (played here by Daniel Zovatto). The film is set mostly in the late 1970's, although it bounces around a bit. We first see Alcala charming a woman in 1977 Wyoming by using his camera and photographic skills to instill a level of comfort and entice her into his car. Very little violence is shown on screen, but the aftermath is - leaving no doubt that Alcala is a monster.

Beyond the murders, what made Rodney Alcala headline-famous, was his 1978 appearance on "The Dating Game", a very popular TV show at the time (only we don't get to hear the iconic theme song, and there's no kiss thrown at the end). By pure coincidence, the bachelorette questioning the three bachelors that day was Cheryl Bradshaw. As the host of the show, Ed Burke (not Jim Lange, played by Tony Hale) adds to the misogyny of the times, while the hair and make-up ladies quietly cheer on Cheryl as she re-writes the second half questions exposing her level of frustration at playing an item of desire for three men. With no shortage of creepy or horrific moments, the film's best sequence involves Cheryl and Alcala walking through a poorly lit parking lot after an excessively awkward post-show drink. This sequence alone proves Ms. Kendrick's mettle as a filmmaker - the tension is nearly unbearable.

Rather than a straightforward re-telling of a psychopath's tales from the 1970's, the film adds layers by reminding us of what women faced in that era - from subtle lack of value to outright abuse and constant concern for their safety. Even Cheryl's interactions with her neighbor (Pete Holmes) displays challenges faced in ordinary settings. The 1979 San Gabriel segment with the runaway (Autumn Best) is both true and chilling, and yet further proof of how much leeway an educated white guy like Alcala could get away with (he had been previously questioned by police in 1977). If somehow you reach the end of the film and aren't totally sickened by Rodney Alcala, just try and keep it together while reading the last few slides regarding his trail of destruction - and just how courageous that final runaway proved to be.

Premieres on Netflix on October 18, 2024.

Woman of the Hour follows the story of serial killer Rodney Alcala along with his appearance he made on the game show, The Dating Game. If you're like me, I didn't know anything about this story at all going into the film, so it was a really interesting watch. This is a good not great movie, but Anna Kendrick did a great job in her directorial debut. I really like what she did with this film, it just felt like it was missing something though. Aside from a couple scenes, it lacks the suspense that could've made this a really great thriller. Regardless, this is a solid movie that I would recommend giving a watch once and I hope we see more of Anna Kendrick directing in the future!

I was really impressed by this film and I had my reservations going into it.

Why are women (me included) obsessed with true crime, particularly of the serial killer nature? And why do we continue to subject ourselves to the torment and angst of what is, realistically, not the way the vast majority of women are killed by men?

I'll hazard a guess that it's because stranger danger is more palatable than the truth.

That said, the portrayal of the women and their reactions once they realise what is about to happen is spot on.

We've all had to smile and apologise for someone else's behaviour when they are the ones who have misread a situation, out of preservation and fear of what might come next if we don't comply.

There's quite a bit of poo-pooing in the reviews about accuracy and the imposition of modern values on a dated event. Well guess what, it's 2024 and we need to put things in context for viewers today.

Anna Kendrick, and all involved, did a stellar job. This is subtle, not gratuitous, and puts the women at the heart of the story.

Autumn Best easily has the standout acting performance in Anna Kendrick's first directorial outing, but Daniel Zovatto as serial killer Rodney Alcala is perfectly creepy as well. The scoring and cinematography are impressive and engaging, and the writing is well-paced and character-driven. I realize this is LOOSELY based on the real story of Alcala's crimes, but the writer(s) got a tad creative compared to the real story (the character "Laura" (played by Nicolette Robinson) never existed, Rodney was bachelor number one, not three, etc.) I also could've used a little more background on him and how he became such a monster. All-in-all this was a tense, interesting, and quite frustrating look at what has to be one of the strangest serial-murder cases of the last 50 years. I see good things ahead for Anna Kendrick's directing career.

I like Anna kendrick, but this film's title is very misleading.

The real Sheryl Bradshaw on the the real gameshow, was flirtatious, confident & quite smutty, with her questions being full of innuendo & some of them, quite ridiculous. She also says she's a Drama teacher on the show. Anna Kendrick portrays her as a failing actress, with no confidence & who was tricked into going on the show, who then changed the smutty, flirtatious questions the show gave her, to intelligent, insightful ones, designed to make the contestants look like idiots, this didn't happen!

The real woman of the hour, was the 14 year old runaway who, after getting beaten, rated & almost murdered, managed to keep her cool & trick the real Rodney Alcala into keeping her alive, until she was able to escape & get help. If it wasn't for her, he would of still been free to continue his reign of terror. Cheryl Bradshaw had nothing to do with catching him & it's an afront to the real heroine, who actually got him caught!

Based on a true story, vicious serial killer, set in the late 1970s, featuring the lovely and multi-talented Anna Kendrick, and ... directed by that same lovely and multi-talented Anna Kendrick! More than enough reasons for me to check out "Woman of the Hour" as soon as it became available via Netflix, and it certainly didn't disappoint!

This is why I am so intrigued by true-crime stories. They are far more incredible and deranged than fiction. If you wrote a script about a serial killer participating in a popular TV-dating show, after already two convictions and imprisonments for sexual delinquencies, nobody would find it realistic or plausible. And yet, it's what really happened in September of 1978, when Rodney Alcala partook - and won - an episode of "The Dating Game" as the witty amateur-photographer Bachelor #3.

Alcala's television appearance is just a mere footnote in his "career", and Anna Kendrick (who also depicts Cheryl Bradshaw; - the woman who chooses him for a date) realizes this as well. "Woman of the Hour" also re-enacts a few of Alcala's previous crimes, like the murder of a stewardess that remained unsolved until 2011 and the kidnapping and attempted murder of a 15-year-old runaway girl. In parallel, Kendrick illustrates the difficulties and dangers that aspiring and naïve young actresses had to face in Hollywood in the late 70s. Perhaps it's not the best true-crime thriller you'll ever see, but "Woman of the Hour" has and handful of efficiently suspenseful moments, a good cast (Autumn Best and Daniel Zovatto also give away strong performances), excellent 70s decors & vibes, and a confident & promising director.

This was good for a true crime movie. Not a lot of background music and it drew you into the grim reality of the atrocities Rodney committed. It really focused on the victims as well and the lack of showing authorities portrayed their lack of caring by victims and their loved ones reporting him. Anna Kendrick may have been the main character but it was depicted that every female affected was as well. The movie did good in moving back and forth between victims and potential victims and didn't need to move in a linear manor to understand what was happening. Overall, well done and it was good average true crime movie.

The actress and now director makes a truly hopeful debut, especially with her ability to handle suspense, a difficult task for her first film that positions her as a future director to keep in mind.

Kendrick brings to life Ian MacAllister McDonald's disturbing script. The duo manages to deliver a rather interesting film that at times manages to come close to the great titles of the genre in a satisfactory way, especially thanks to the director's ability to know how to control the rhythm, time and tone of a film that never loses focus on what it seeks to deliver.

It's a fascinating and terrifying story that takes us to Los Angeles in 1978, where an aspiring actress meets serial killer Rodney Alcala on the set of the popular television contest The Dating Game. From that base, the script and its director build a film that flows in a disturbing way, where the dynamics of playing with time jumps and parallel stories make the viewer always stay focused on the whole story that they are giving us. To that we must add that Kendrick is super intelligent in how to place the camera and how to play with suspense at all times, the film is a constant tension from its beginning to its magnificent end.

The great contribution of the cast also plays a big role in its favour, where we must of course include Anna Kendrick as the main protagonist of the film, but also the powerful interpretation of Daniel Zovatto as this serial killer who at times is truly scary. We can add Autumn Best and Nicolette Robinson, who in their moments on screen dazzle with two really powerful characters.

Kendrick intelligently decides how to show us the violence of Alcalá and does so by avoiding gore or blood in abundance, and humanizes her victims and gives the killer as a weapon the many privileges that were granted to him as a handsome and well-spoken white man, easily inserting himself into lives that he would later cruelly end. This not only highlights the powerful look that the director gives of how the world of heterosexual dating works, but also of how television does it. All of this is bathed in a precise, powerful and aggressive feminist look that does not feel uncomfortable, but rather necessary as a voice of justice for the hundreds of victims of this serial killer.

It is also true that the film has its small flaws, especially in certain decisions made by the script that sometimes fit and at other times feel a bit strange, but that do not detract from the power of a film that is well constructed and well directed, which allows us to always be in the world that is being presented to us in a concentrated and immersed way, where that is already a great achievement for the difficult debut that it was for its director.

In short, we are left with an interesting film that leaves many pleasant sensations and that positions a future director to be taken into account in the future and where she stimulates intelligence when it comes to posing suspense as if she had been doing it all her life.

I like Anna Kendrick in general and was excited about her directorial debut. One of the issues is I didn't know this was from real life events. So I was waiting for the movie "to start" as it felt like a very slow to start movie from beginning to end, with "the big thing" never really happening. But there is only so much dramatization they could do from a real life story I guess. Overall it's well acted and directed, but I still feel they could have written it in a way that made it a bit more gripping.

Mostly though my disappointment is due to the fact that, not knowing it was a real story, I thought it would go in a totally different direction once it reached the dating show part. Like she somehow would be made aware one of the dudes is a serial killer and through witty questions make him out himself; in fact I wish that had been most of the movie, sort of like a psychological thriller Slumdog Millionaire meets the finale of A Few Good Men. And in my head that sounds like a really cool movie I'd love to watch. Unfortunately with that in mind, this one ended up a bit of a less exciting ride for me.

After seeing the Monster- series (Menendez and Dahmer) another true (Netflix-) story about a convicted (serial-)killer. And ... well done, miss Kendrick. The acting and staging was quite sober and to the point. The whole movie had this weird tension in itself. Seen or told from a woman's perspective made it really fresh. Of course he's a creep and we all feel it, but it wasn't washed aside by tricks and heavy or accompanied by thick music or acting or camera-use.

It makes you (made me) think of how little we 'believe' woman when there is something wrong or rotten. We're getting there... but the info at the end made me shiver.

Compliments.

Although this movie I found to be quite good and engaging in parts, I thought the slow pace and just generally the lack of content really lets it down.

So have to say off the bat, you'll need to have an understanding of the real life story before you delve into this, because if not I think it'll be a hard and dull watch. I had a basic understanding of the real life story and this worked perfectly for the watchability of this movie as I knew what was going on and understood some references, but also didn't know enough so it kept it interested and on the edge of my seat to know how he got caught.

However, my main issue is that I feel as though it's not a long enough story to really make into a movie. It's an hour and a half and the pace was really slow at times, almost like it was just squeezing that little more out just to reach that 90 min mark.

Acting was great however, the setting and cinematography was also great and for a directorial debut I think Anna Kendrick can say it was a success!

Sheryl (Anna Kendrick) is a struggling actress in Hollywood in the 1970's. Ready to give up and move back home, her agent books her on The Dating Game, where she can pick from 3 bachelors to go on a date. Among the gentlemen suitors to be is Rodney (Daniel Zovatto), a serial rapist and killer, who wants Sheryl to be the 'Woman of the Hour'.

The film is decently acted and shot; reminiscent of the '70's, where everything is a hue of brown and orange. The fault is the script. Most of the film revolves around Sheryl, but the other various crimes that Rodney commits are far more interesting. The climax of the film is lackluster and may leave the viewer less than satisfied.

Might be worth a watch. Don't expect much.

Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of a serial killer who actually hunted a potential victim of The Dating Game in the 1970's. While the film kept my interest, the time jumps back and forth to other previous victims kind of confuses the story a bit and after reading the actual true story I feel that they focused on the wrong woman for this movie. Anna Kendrick also directs this and changes the real life contestant Cheryl Bradshaw into a failing actress who changes the questions given to her to make herself appear much smarter than the men on the show, challenging them to answer much more detailed and thought provoking questions when in reality the real woman was a drama teacher and was there looking to meet a man and seemed very bubbly and asked really silly questions the show provided.

I just felt this could've been done better and the I feel the serial killer was miscast.

Anna Kendrick's first movie as a director confirms one thing: She's better behind the camera than in front of it; her "brainy with a touch of airhead nerd" demeanor worked in movies like Up in the Air but is lost in more serious movies. But her direction is confident and she clearly picked up her style from watching the movies she gushes about in a recent Criterion Closet episode (Klute, All That Jazz, and Bergman films).

This depiction of the Rodney Alcala murders, aka the "Dating Game Killer," shifts back and forth in time. In the first 20 minutes, the events go from 1978, to 1977, back to 1971, and then 1979, before settling back to 1978, where Kendrick's character Sheryl, a struggling actress transplanted to LA from Allentown (or Scranton), PA, is chosen to appear as "girl number one" on the Dating Game.

The game show itself features sorts of cinematic goodies, but those were already depicted in George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Kendrick pays tribute to her former co-star from Up in the Air with the behind-the-scenes sequences of The Dating Game).

Alcala ends up as "bachelor number 3," and Sheryl asks questions to each bachelor (at the suggestion of her make up artist) so atypical and unorthodox that she annoys the misogynistic host of the game show, "Ed Burke," an alias for the real host of the show, Jim Lang. Alcala, exuding confidence and danger that frustrates and unsettles the other two contestants, ends up winning the date.

The best sequence of the movie takes place after the show, where Sheryl and Alcala go on a late night dinner date to a Polynesian restaurant and we feel the danger Sheryl is in. Too bad the movie could not sustain this suspense throughout the rest of the running time. Jumping back and forth from year to year is more distracting than effective. Kenrick aims for a portrait of a serial killer similar to Zodiac or No Country for Old Men, and just can't pull it off in a mere 95 minutes. The movie's events probably would have worked better as a NetFlix limited series.

The set design is odd. Although most of the events take place in the late '70s, the clothes, room decors, and general atmosphere feel more like late '60s. The Dating Game itself was more of a product of the 1960s, but was brought back for a brief run on ABC, and then in syndication, in the late '70s.

Kendrick has come a long way from Pitch Perfect (and thank God for that). She may have a bright career in directing. This one is close but no cigar.