Woman of the Hour movie review: The fatal charms of a psychopath

Still from Woman of The Hour

Film: Woman of the Hour (Lionsgate)
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best, Pete Holmes, Kathryn Gallagher, Kelley Jakle
Director: Anna Kendrick
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 94 min.

Anna Kendrick's directorial debut, about a freak occurrence, where a serial killer is cast as one of the bachelors in a daytime TV dating game, is based on a true story. Written by Ian McDonald, the film details how serial rapist and killer Rodney Alcala(Daniel Zovatto) appeared on "The Dating Game" in 1978.

The narrative is dramatised and segmented and the pacing is not exactly suited to a thriller experience. But Kendrick as lead actress, playing Sheryl, and taking on the role of director, does well to give us an inkling into the make-up of a wannabe actress, desperately looking for work and finding a spot as a contestant who matched with the serial killer on that fateful day.

The narrative doesn't have a steady gaze - moving between Alcala and his victims, Sheryl on the dating show, and Sheryl in her personal life. It feels scattered and ineffective because the movie can't seem to decide if it wants to focus on Sheryl, the dating show, or Alcala.

The pacing of this film is deliberate, switching back and forth between time frames and victims. The non-chronological narration makes it hard to determine what has happened before or after the game show. The film is effective, in it's brutal depiction of violence towards women and the sexism prevalent in the 70's.

Alcala's eyes are a mirror to his corrupted soul and Zovatto does a good job portraying that. Daniel Zovatto's eyes lulls women into a false sense of safety. You can see the shifts to predator mode, and the cruelty that suddenly comes to the fore. Kendrick makes sure we see the transition of the mild mannered man into an unimaginable monster.

The game show portion feels under-cooked and doesn't have the chill factor. Away from the show, we see Amy (Autumn Best), a teenage runaway who manages to escape from Alcala and ultimately call for his arrest. How she survives the ordeal is another thing altogether.

Kendrick has made a slick '70s-set thriller about a serial killer whose reign of terror lasted a decade and notched up a body count of over 800 victims. Kendrick's film is a critique of the society that enabled Alcala. It's about normalizing violence against women through sexism and misogyny.

We're never sure whether this is supposed to be the story of the killer, or his would-be-victim. But nevertheless, there are very effective handsomely shot sequences. Unfortunately, the uneven nature of the narrative makes the overall experience fall flat.