R | 1h 35m | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, History | 2024
Taking place over approximately the same time as the murders committed by Ted Bundy in the 1970s, Rodney Alcala was doing the same thing in Wyoming, Texas, Southern California, and Manhattan.
Bundy and Alcala had much in common. Both men were handsome and outwardly charming; they presented no initial threat, and targeted beautiful, often naïve, trusting young women. Both also acted as their own defense attorneys at their trials.
Unlike all past movies made about Bundy, Anna Kendrick (in her feature directorial debut) goes out of her way to keep on-screen re-creations of Alcala’s crimes down to an absolute bare minimum. Only three acts of violence are depicted, and two of those are well blocked or largely off-screen. This is just one of Kendrick’s brilliant storytelling choices on display in “Woman of the Hour.”
No Luck? Try a Game Show
The title refers to Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick), an aspiring Hollywood actress who can’t seem to catch a break. Multiple auditions for bit parts in 1978 yield no results. Semi-desperate to get her foot in the door, she grudgingly takes her agent’s advice, and agrees to appear as a contestant on the ABC daytime show “The Dating Game.”Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) was one of the three bachelors Bradshaw “interviewed” on the show. Sold on his easy charm and flirty sense of humor, she picks him. As the show ends, the host (Tony Hale) wishes them well as they stand side by side, their arms around each other’s waists, each flashing wide smiles.
The show might’ve been over, but the night had just begun, with Alcala gently coercing Bradshaw into having drinks. Although this starts out well, Alcala’s phony façade eventually dissipates, and he eventually reveals his true persona.
Even though the “Dating Game” segment takes nearly the entire length of the movie to fully gestate and unfold, it only accounts for just over a third of the total 95-minute running time. Kendrick and screenwriter Ian McDonald make every second of the narrative count by divvying up this portion of the story into six parts.
The filmmakers interweave them with one event taking place in New York in 1971, then another in San Gabriel, California in 1979. The movie itself opens with a brief scene in 1977 Wyoming.
Gaining Trust
Whereas Bundy often feigned injury to gain sympathy with his targets, Alcala employed a completely different approach by politely asking them if he could simply take their picture. As he carried samples of his photography work with him, Alcala was able to easily convince women he had genuine talent, thus slowly gaining their trust. In some instances, a few of them actually approached him.
This was the case with Charlie (Kathryn Gallagher), a flight attendant living in New York. She called on Alcala to help her move some furniture off the street into her new apartment. In San Gabriel, Alcala took photos of Amy (Autumn Best), a teenage runaway seeking refuge at a bus station. Amy was a harder sell. This presented a bigger challenge and made him all the more determined and, this is key, patient.
Unlike most thrillers (as many of those about Bundy), Kendrick avoids typically cheap genre flourishes. There are no special effects, no chase scenes, no gore, and nothing resembling an eerie, experimental, or overpowering backing score. The camera work is basic; this should not be confused with lazy, boring, or unimpressive.
Kendrick includes a great mix of close-up, medium, long, and aerial shots and none of it is flashy or self-aware. The closest she gets to “edgy” is with a few scenes containing dialogue. One or more characters starts and quickly cuts to another with other characters continuing or finishing the dialogue.
One of the story’s best highlights takes place late in the film when a “Dating Game” audience member (Nicolette Robinson as Laura) thinks she recognizes Alcala as the man who murdered her friend the night all of them met at beach party. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to late singer Donna Summer, Robinson’s Laura serves as a de facto audience surrogate.
Primal Scream
Despite her multiple efforts, Laura’s reporting of Alcala to ABC executives, and, later, L.A.’s finest, fall on deaf ears. Her frustrated primal scream ,while exiting a police station, is a superb example of what happens when concerned citizens attempt to do the right thing and are discounted or outright ignored.In the wrong hands, “Woman of the Hour” could have turned into just another tacky, sleazy, tasteless, and exploitive true crime thriller, but we can see that Kendrick and McDonald had something higher in mind.
Alcala was convicted of murdering seven women, but was also a suspect in 130 other cases. He might have been able to continue had it not been for the efforts of the women played by Kendrick, Robinson, and, especially, Best.
In some ways preventing likely future deaths is more important than seeking retribution over past lives lost. In this case, both of those goals were ultimately achieved.
Be sure to stick around for the pre-closing credits epilogue for all of the details.
