| Woman of the Hour can be an uncomfortable watch, a movie that doesn’t really all come together until the end when you realize how succinctly it has told a true crime story with real implications from the sexism of the 1970s. How women weren’t believed and how easily people can present themselves differently. It's a measured and careful movie, a smart blend of what's needed to tell both a small story of one game show and an epic tale of misogyny. | | 2024
Directed by: Anna Kendrick
Screenplay by: Ian McDonald
Starring: Daniel Zovatto, Anna Kendrick
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In some ways, the movie is the opposite of its central character. Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) was a serial killer and rapist in the 1970s who was eventually convicted of 7 murders but committed a hundred more. He’s a man who speaks so intelligently and respectfully that women, and police officers, will be charmed by him immediately and it’s not until later that they realize how evil and dangerous he is. For some women, it was too late, but as you’ll see in the movie, he also had a number of victims and soon-to-be victims who figured him out but just couldn’t get anyone else to care.
The movie never presents this as a tabloid-esque shocking true crime escapade (and after reading more of the case afterwards, it very well could have). Instead it remains centered on the women with a lot of respect to the victims. It never really becomes a true crime thriller but is actually more of a drama about gender sociology and the misogyny of the times.
The story of Alcala is told through one notable moment when he appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game show, opposite Anna Kendrick’s Sheryl Bradshaw. So much of what made Alcala able to do it and get away with it for so long is presented through his appearance on this popular game show.
While the movie is about Alcala, the lead character is Sheryl Bradshaw, a wannabe actress who is struggling to get work so her agent books her on The Dating Game. (It’s true that shows like that were often cast by hiring actresses and presented them as every day women from around the country). She’s reluctant but agrees because it worked for Sally Field and it could be fun.
The Dating Game scenes are the most entertaining. Kendrick’s Sheryl plays it up like a role, delivering the pre-written questions exactly as designed to the delight of the host (Tony Hale). But then decides she would rather entertain herself than the producers, so she writes her own questions for the three bachelors.
Most of the bachelors always belong to the two clear stereotypes: a handsome idiot, and a player who believes his aggressive charm and confidence is all women want. For this particular episode, Bachelor #1 and #2 fit those descriptions perfectly, and Bachelor #3 was a serial killer hiding in plain day light on national television. Sheryl’s questions showed off how stupid the first bachelor is and how full of himself the second bachelor is. Rodney doesn’t fall into the same traps; he is very intelligent, he has at least two university degrees, is extremely well read and can respond to any question with a sophisticated answer. He also sees the second bachelor fall into the traps and talks about how he respects women and always lets them make their own decisions.
All of that is key to how he got away with it for so long. And the movie does a remarkable job showing that. Woman of the Hour can be slow and creepy, funny at times, a little off kilter, but it brings it all together delivering a powerful story and somehow finds a way to end on an optimistic note. My most anticipated TIFF movie, a year later, lives up to expectations.
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