Woman of the Hour Review: Anna Kendrick Impresses with Chilling Directorial Debut 

Woman of the Hour, starring and directed by Anna Kendrick, is the latest true crime story to be released on Netflix. Its unbelievable but true premise helps it stand out from the rest.

In 1978, serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game with Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick). The film, written by Ian McDonald, is a delicate balance of centering the story of down-on-her-luck aspiring actress Cheryl and the tension of the taping with flashbacks to Alcala’s killings. 

Where Woman of the Hour shines most is its commitment to not lionizing Alcala but instead humanizing his victims. The story sends a strong overall message about how violence against women is too often dismissed and normalized and the need to change that. 

At the center of these women is Cheryl, who at first glance seems like a typical character Kendrick would be typecast as. She is plucky and sarcastic but still charming, and in another type of film, her bad luck would turn around for all her dreams to come true. 

However, this is not that film. Instead, Cheryl must endure a series of humiliations ranging from casting directors insulting her to her face to her slimy neighbor hitting on her after pretending to offer friendship. 

Those indignities culminate when her path crosses with Alcala on The Dating Game. Her decision to flip the script on the show creates an eccentric stretch of the film that is both funny and gut-wrenching because viewers already know her humorous attempts to avoid the more overtly sexist bachelors is just pushing her further into the killer’s crosshairs.

Kendrick exhibits a knack for directing in this debut, and smart creative choices add to the tension of the film. Particularly notable is the cinematography. Several of Alcala’s murders are framed through windows creating an added sense of helplessness as you watch him attack his victim.

A later scene, where Cheryl and Alcala go out after the taping, abruptly cuts out the background noise when Cheryl triggers Alcala into slipping off his mask to reveal the sociopath underneath. It’s a creative emphasis of how quickly a man can turn against a woman at the flip of a switch. 

Zovatto is chilling as the smug Alcala who somehow lulls women into trusting him before his true intentions are revealed. 

As a viewer, you constantly feel the varying levels of danger these women face. The movie emulates the real-life constant vigilance women must practice while moving through the world.

A parking lot confrontation between Alcala and Cheryl after their failed date will leave your pulse racing even after she makes a narrow escape. You’ll cry tears of relief when a later victim Amy (Autumn Best) finally gets Alcala arrested.

The film’s attempt to center women isn’t always successful though. The fictional character Laura (Nicolette Robinson) is introduced as the friend of one of Alcala’s victims who just happens to recognize him at the taping of The Dating Game.

She’s a stand-in for all the women who filed reports and were not believed or whose cases went cold. Robinson’s display of panic, grief, and frustration will be relatable to far too many women, but the fabrication of her reencounter is a too sensationalized in an otherwise grounded film. 

Minor missteps aside, Woman of the Hour successfully avoids the more egregious mistakes of the true crime genre by leaning into the grounded horror of the events. It will leave you unsettled instead of entertained, which is how a story of this nature should play out but often doesn’t as the industry turns to true crime churn out content.

What did you think of Woman of the Hour? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Woman of the Hour is streaming now on Netflix.

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