Tony Hale and Anna Kendrick in a scene from Netflix’s 'Woman of the Hour.' Leah Gallo/Netflix

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

 

The Halloween season is truly well upon everyone, and in the spirit of that, I’ve been taking in all the spooky/creepy/mystery media I can to get in the proper mood. As you’ve read in past Octobers, I have some tried and true Halloween favorites, but this year seems to have more spooky/creepy/mystery releases to enjoy, including a new Netflix release, “Woman of the Hour.”

The film follows the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala and his 1978 appearance on the television show “The Dating Game” in the midst of his murder spree. The film stars Anna Kendrick as “The Dating Game” contestant Cheryl Bradshaw and Daniel Zovatto as Alcala. From what I’ve read, at the time of his TV appearance, Alcala had murdered at least five women, and his appearance on the episode later earned him the nickname "The Dating Game Killer."

“Woman of the Hour” also marks Kendrick’s directorial debut, and the film definitely shows she’s got a lot of promise behind the camera. The opening scene alone is absolutely amazingly well done not just in terms of the scenery (though that aspect is EXTREMELY gorgeous) but also in terms of pacing and overall atmosphere. The movie begins with Alcala innocently talking with and taking photos of one of his victims (one of the luring methods he apparently used), but ever so subtly, the tone shifts and there’s danger in the air, and it’s just an absolutely perfect way to begin the film. The movie offers other snippets of more of Alcala’s crime scenes spanning between 1971 and 1979, which are also really well done because Daniel Zovatto is amazing as Alcala and can switch from being nice and charming to absolutely terrifying almost within the blink of an eye. I also appreciated how the murder scenes themselves weren’t really gratuitous, because nothing turns me off more than excessive splatter/gore etc.

The majority of the movie, however, focuses on Alcala’s appearance on “The Dating Game,” where he meets his almost-victim, Cheryl, an aspiring actress who’s not exactly thrilled to be on the show, but gives it a shot to potentially get more Hollywood honchos to see her. The game show scenes themselves are really well done and somewhat cringe-inducing, but in a good way (because let’s face it, HOW were these types of shows EVER popular?), and I’m sure there will be some nostalgia for viewers who grew up in that particular era.

Kendrick also does a great job as the movie’s leading lady, Cheryl Bradshaw, and I feel this project was a bit cathartic for her in terms of any misogyny/disrespect she’s faced throughout her career. There’s an audition scene near the beginning of the movie where she has to deal (again) with the casting men crudely discussing the physical attributes of her and her fellow female auditioners, and they dismiss her after she informs them of her disinterest in doing nude scenes. Then a few scenes later, the show’s host orders the hair and makeup crew to find her a different dress in order to “show off that figure!” like she’s not even in the room. While there have been some improvements made in Hollywood throughout the years in regards to misogynistic practices, it’s definitely still happening, and I feel like this was Kendrick’s way of mildly flipping the bird toward those types of people. During the show, Cheryl also decides to change many of the questions (much to the show host’s chagrin) in order to get actual answers from her “bachelors,” and again, I feel like Kendrick drew on some of her own experiences for those scenes, because it feels just so natural.

Something else I noticed about the movie is how so many of the 1970s attitudes toward women shown in the movie can still be applicable today, which is really sad. Throughout the movie, Cheryl is constantly having to accommodate the men she’s dealing with lest their delicate egos take a bruise, and women are STILL dealing with that all the way in 2024 – how many news stories are there of women being stalked/harmed/killed by men just because they rejected them for a date? Cheryl even has to do this with her female agent, because as the old Hollywood cliché goes, any exposure is good exposure, and she doesn’t want her agent to be unhappy with her or think she’s ungrateful for the work she’s doing. Those scenes will surely have multiple women viewers either thinking or saying out loud “Yep, I’ve dealt with THAT!” I can’t say whether or not that was Kendrick’s overall goal as director to convey that message, but it totally works.

And odd as it may sound, the movie itself is actually quite gorgeous in regard to the cinematography. The sets for “The Dating Game” are recreated really well and will throw some people into a time loop, and the outdoor scenes are just absolutely crisp and lovely to look at. Whoever was in charge of scouting locations and/or set design definitely deserves a shoutout, because they did an awesome job. The movie’s pacing is also really well done and thankfully doesn’t linger at any point for too long.

If there’s one minor complaint I have about the movie, it’s about the transitions between scenes. The scenes showing Alcala with his victims and the “The Dating Game” scenes are all well done, but I just felt the transitions to be a little jarring and abrupt, and they could have been smoother.

Overall, I enjoyed “Woman of the Hour” and I would give it a solid “B-plus” grade. The story is absolutely solid, and I feel like Kendrick definitely had a vision for what she wanted, and it makes for a great directorial debut. Kendrick also does a great job as the movie’s leading lady, and I feel like she was able to use some of her personal experiences in order to help her performance. Daniel Zovatto is amazing as Alcala and he is able to be both charming and terrifying, sometimes within the same scene. The overall production aspects of the movie are also well done, and I could tell there was a lot of effort put forth. If you’re a true crime buff or just looking for a more creepy/mystery movie to watch this season, “Woman of the Hour” is one to cue up.

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