If I told you that a serial rapist and murderer was once on a live television dating show in the midst of his crimes, you would not believe me, would you? No, of course not—but you should. This is the premise of Anna Kendrick’s new brilliant film Woman of the Hour, based on the true crimes of Rodney Alcala during the 1970s, directed by and starring Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher, and Nicolette Robinson. The film begins with murder of an unnamed woman, who falls victim to Alcala’s deceiving flirtatious charm, as he photographs her in a remote location. What is initially a seemingly heartwarming conversation, where the woman opens up about her personal life, quickly turns sinister. Alcala strangles her, and in vain, she attempts to free herself from his grasp. This opening scene immediately sets the tone for the rest of the film, and as a viewer I suspected that this would not be the last femicide I observed onscreen.
The film takes place across California in the 1970s, not only following Alcala, but also aspiring actress Sheryl Bradshaw. Just as Bradshaw is about to leave LA, giving up on her dreams of making the big screen, her agent calls her with an opportunity to be on a live television show called The Dating Game. Reluctant, but desperate for the chance to have a big break, Bradshaw accepts. It is on this show where she meets Alcala and she too, like the other women he has murdered and raped, falls victim to his flirty exterior. Luckily, Bradshaw is able to escape Alcala—she gets into her car as he briskly follows her, while a group of men from the television crew leave the studio loudly. Then Alcala, angry that he did not get to claim yet another woman’s life, anxiously backs away from Sheryl’s car.
Daniel Zovatto’s acting as Alcala is bloodcurdling, particularly in this scene—the pure fury and psychotic hatred in his face as he looks at Sheryl is an emotion many (if not all) women have witnessed in men at some point in their lives.Bradshaw is not the only character to escape Alcala though, a teenage girl named Amy, is the victim who brings Alcala to justice at the close of the film. After being knocked unconscious by Alcala, Amy can tell she has been raped, with her hands and ankles tied and her trousers at her ankles. As he lies next to her, crying into his hands, Amy uses his own methods against him, telling him that she is embarrassed by what has happened asking him if he can keep their relationship a secret. Alcala, fooled, says that he will, and they get back into his car together.
When they stop at the service station, Alcala uses the toilet, and Amy makes a run for it. She goes into a diner opposite and immediately calls the police. Quickly, the police arrive, and Alcala is arrested whilst Amy watches from the diner window. This is yet another hard-hitting scene, as viewers watch Amy breakdown in distress, but they do not get to see Alcala’s arrest, providing a dissatisfying conclusion to the film. However, I believe this is exactly what Kendrick wanted to achieve, as the real-life Alcala was actually released after his arrest the first-time round. There is a suggestion at the end of the film that he will most definitely reoffend (which was the case in reality), making viewers wonder how many more women will have to die before he is finally made to pay for his crimes? One
character whose storyline touched me was Laura. Although she is not directly a victim of Alcala’s, she is directly affected by his crimes. A year prior to the day Alcala and Bradshaw are on The Dating Game, Laura’s friend was raped and murdered. As Laura sits in the live audience with her boyfriend and his family, she panics as she recognises Alcala’s face. In a fluster, she leaves the studio and asks security to contact the police and the producer of The Dating Game. The security guard assures her he has passed on her message to the producer, however, later Laura discovers that he has given her details to the janitor as a joke. Out of the entire film, I found this scene brought out the biggest emotional response in me. I felt Laura’s rage and upset in my own heart; yet another woman’s fear and pain has been mocked by her male counterparts. Despite being set in the 1970s, this gender discrimination is alive as ever in the 21st century.
Robinson, like the rest of the cast in this film, gives viewers a beautifully heartbreaking performance, evoking passionate emotions in all kinds of audiences.Kendrick’s film truly transcends all centuries, its story more apt than ever as we watch the United States of America elect Donald Trump for a second term as their 47th president, even though he is a misogynist, racist, and convict who has been found liable for rape. It makes one wonder, what it will possibly take for the world to start supporting women and listen to victims. It makes us wonder what extreme lengths people will go to keep women from being in power. It makes us wonder when there will ever be a serious change in male attitudes to femicide and violence against women more broadly. Woman of the Hour demands us to look directly at the primary enemy of the feminist issue—the age-old patriarchal institutions that have governed us from the beginning of time. The final look from Amy asks us a simple question: How are we going to fix this?