Woman of the Hour (2024): A Chilling Depiction of Evil

It’s America’s favourite game show, Who Wants to Date a Serial Killer? Well, technically it’s The Dating Game, a now defunct show where single women ask men (generally stupid) questions to decide with which one they would like a date. But when struggling actress Sheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) appears on the show, that’s essentially the question she’s faced with, as it seems one of the bachelors, Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), is indeed, a serial killer.

It seems like something that shouldn’t even be possible, and yet Woman of the Hour is based on this bizarre, true story. But that’s just the hook. The movie really isn’t about how a woman meets a serial killer on a game show. Rather it is more about how a serial killer roamed free, despite being reported and identified by many women.

Although The Dating Game is the central focus of the movie, it also shows Alcala, both before and after his appearance on the show, as he targets and kills women, preying on their vulnerability. This is woven together with scenes of Sheryl leading up to and during The Dating Game appearance, giving the audience a chance to continually learn more about Alcala’s true nature as Sheryl gets closer to selecting him for a date. This does add some extra tension as her impending decision begins to look worse and worse, although she doesn’t know it yet. It also provides a counterbalance, showing how vile he is, compared with how charming he appears on the show.

In her feature directorial debut, Kendrick shows great attention to detail in her recreation of the time period, giving it a distinct 70s vibe. She also makes interesting decisions when it comes to showing Alcala’s attacks, mostly choosing to hint at the violence rather than showing it in full detail. She provides just enough to let the audience know what is happening, yet never dwelling in it. It’s an impressive debut.

The cast is quite good, with several fine performances. However, it is Zovatto that is the standout. He imbues Alcala with both charm and menace, easily switching between the two. It is a quiet performance, even at its most menacing, making it all the more unsettling. I also quite enjoyed the performances from Autumn Best and Nicolette Robinson as their characters provided extra depth and insight into how Alcala was able to get away with things for so long. Kendrick is also good, but I can’t help but feel that she’s playing a version of herself in that situation.

Although based on a true story, I can’t say just how much of what appears on screen is fact. Alcala’s crimes, and his encounter with Sheryl on The Dating Game are certainly true, but I suspect there is a large amount of liberty taken with the rest of the story. I suspect that other than Sheryl, the women in the film are largely amalgamations of real people. And I doubt the way Sheryl tries to upend the normal Dating Game conventions played out that way in real life.

Ultimately, I feel Woman of the Year puts too much focus on The Dating Game appearance. It is certainly the most bizarre aspect, and ultimately the hook of the movie, but it is just a piece of a larger story. Although the juxtaposition between the goofy nature, bright lights and colours of the game show, and the seriousness and darkness of Alcala’s crimes is interesting, there are more interesting parts to this narrative that don’t get enough attention.  The constant shift between Sheryl’s story, and Alcala’s crimes makes the pacing uneven. It lacks focus as to which story is really being told.

Then again, maybe it’s not really about any of the characters. Woman of the Year is more a look at evil and how easily it hides in plain sight. It’s also about the struggle of women to be heard when faced with violent men. It’s shocking just how easily one of the characters is brushed off or toyed with when trying to report Alcala. “Maybe it isn’t him”., “Maybe he didn’t do anything”. It’s an indictment of society that he was allowed to remain free for so long.

While there are some narrative and pacing issue, Woman of the Hour is a compelling film, marking a solid start to Anna Kendrick’s directing career. Strong performances, and an engaging story make it well worth watching.  

Have you seen Woman of the Hour? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.