WOMAN OF THE HOUR (NETFLIX) (2024)



SYNOPSIS
: An aspiring actress crosses paths with a prolific serial killer in '70s LA when they're cast on an episode of "The Dating Game." Based on a true story.

MOVIE REVIEW:

David Fincher’s Zodiac tops the list when it comes to epic movie adaptations of real-life serial killers. But how about meeting a serial killer on a live dating game show? No, this is not a joke. This true story is based on serial killer and sex offender Rodney Alcala who went on a murder spree in the 1970s and was a contestant on the popular game show, The Dating Game.

Woman of the Hour is obviously loosely based on the true crimes committed by Alcala as the narrative jumps back and forth in time and instead of focusing on the killer spent most of its runtime on a struggling actress named Cheryl Bradshaw played by Anna Kendrick.

Bradshaw is what most online critics called a strong female character. She is feisty, confident and smart though she has not much of a luck being cast in a movie or a TV show so one day, her agent recommend her to appear on a dating show in which she is mesmerised by the charming Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto).

And because the movie only showed snippets of Alcala’s killings of several women, we knew very little of this creepy man except he is tremendously skilled in luring unsuspicious women into some vast desert space and mercilessly raped and killed them. The crime nature of the movie is firmly established no doubt and Alcala is shown as a disgusting sick animal capable of destroying every single innocent women even a runaway teenager.

However, the lack of focus makes Woman of the Hour a rather wasted effort. For the most part, Alcala is mostly treated as an afterthought. The entire movie belongs to Kendrick who delivers a powerhouse leading actress performance as Cheryl Bradshaw and also did we mention a solid directorial debut.

Instead of relying on gruesome violence acts, Kendrick cuts away at the most critical moments leaving the true horrors to your own imagination. The cinematography by Zach Kuperstein also emerges as one strong aspect of the movie peppering the viewing experience with absolutely stunning landscapes shots and true artistic beauty.

We can only recommend Woman of the Hour purely because of Kendrick’s immensely talents on and behind the camera and of course, Zovatto’s chilling performance. As a movie on serial killer, there’s other similar sensational and well-crafted movies out there that are way more satisfying.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee



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