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The dating scene can be risky—especially for women. It’s never easy to tell which potential date can be trusted and which could be dangerous. But that’s not just the case today. And Netflix’s Woman of the Hour tells the story of one woman’s real-life run-in with an incredibly charming killer.
Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick), who’s about to give up when she finally gets a break. After struggling to find work in 1970s Hollywood, Cheryl is thrilled to hear that her agent has gotten her a guest spot on a TV show—until she learns that the TV show is The Dating Game. Cheryl tries to make the best of her appearance on the show, questioning the three mystery bachelors—not knowing that Bachelor #3, Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), is actually a serial killer.
Though Cheryl’s encounter with Rodney on The Dating Game is the focal point of the film, there’s much more to the story. The film skips back and forth in time, following the charming photographer as he meets a number of different vulnerable young women, listening to their stories and photographing them before he kills them.
Despite the disturbing subject matter, though, director and star Anna Kendrick still manages to give the story a little bit of her own personality to balance the darkness with touches of humor. In exploring this incident that could have easily turned deadly, she plays up the campy ‘70s feel—and the awkwardness and innuendo of the classic dating show. To modern-day viewers, everything about the show is more than just a little bit creepy—and that unnerving feeling is only heightened by the scenes of Rodney’s interaction with his victims.
Kendrick also creates a strong character in Cheryl—a young woman who’s clearly not comfortable playing the expected role of a pretty and dim-witted prize to be won. And when she rewrites her note cards and peppers the bachelors with clever questions, the scene is pure Anna Kendrick comic gold. But Cheryl’s story isn’t all laughs, and what plays out is eerie and chilling—a suspenseful story about one woman’s close call with a killer.
For her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick definitely made a worthy choice. Woman of the Hour is both dark and quirky—a stranger-than-fiction true story that manages to make a point about the dangers of being a woman without taking away from the film’s entertainment value.
You can meet Cheryl and her bachelors when Woman of the Hour arrives on Netflix on October 18, 2024.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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