Hello and Welcome back to my blog! I write about films directed by women and this week I am choosing to write on The Woman of the Hour. This film was just released on Netflix, and it is directed by Anna Kendrick. I have not been able to watch any newly released films this fall in theaters, so I was glad that this one was released on streaming. This is also Kendrick’s directorial debut, so I was interested to see her work. The Woman of the Hour is a fact mixed with fiction account about the notorious serial killer, Rodney Alcala, who would lure people in through his photography. He also appeared on an episode of The Dating Game, during his killing spree. This post will contain spoilers for The Woman of the Hour.
What I liked the most about this film is that it does not just highlight the violence towards women that Alcala committed, but also how women are treated by men in general. There are comments here and there throughout the film that solidify this. On The Dating Game, a bachelorette chooses between three bachelors, that are not seen by her, according to how they answer certain questions. The protagonist, Sheryl, is the bachelorette on this show. Before she goes onto the show the host tells her to just smile and laugh. This is so she does not intimidate the men. He also brushes her hair behind her shoulder before he leaves her. Also on The Dating Game, one of the bachelors comments on women’s breast size and says he would never be with a woman under a C cup. Kendrick shows that not just physical violence affects women.
Another directorial choice that I appreciated from Kendrick was her caution on not exploiting Alcala’s victims. She gave the victims fake names in the movie in order to not take away their autonomy, like Alcala did. For example, a girl was able to escape Alcala murdering her by being forgiving and nice to him after he attacked her. She was able to run away and call for help when they were driving and stopped at a gas station. This is an event that actually happened, but Kendrick names the girl Amy, instead of providing the victim’s actual name. I will not provide the actual victim’s name, either, because I admire this detail in the film. Kendrick also does not show the victims being attacked in too graphic of a way. For example, a woman named Charlie asks Alcala for help lifting boxes while moving into her new apartment. He stays to have a drink and ends up killing her, but the viewers do not see this. The camera pans out from looking into a skylight that is in Charlie’s apartment. We see Alcala trying to wrestle her to the ground, and not much more than that, but the viewer can infer what happens. I like this aspect of the film because it gives the victims some of their autonomy back, which was taken away from them by Alcala.
I also enjoy the fact that Kendrick added in a character that is not based on any of Alcala’s victims in order to emphasize this treatment. This character is named Laura and she is a guest member in the audience of The Dating Game. She recognizes Alcala because she and her friend met him at a bonfire on the beach. Laura left her friend alone with Alcala and found her dead in her apartment soon after. She gave a description to the police, but nothing ever came of it. She leaves the audience of the show and goes to the police because she wants to speak with a producer in order to warn them. The policeman leads her to a room and tells her the producer will be with her shortly. She figures out that the policeman did not give her the name of the producer, but instead the janitor, and she was never going to meet with anybody. Her boyfriend helps her go to the police a third time, to no avail. She shouts at the policeman “Do your fucking job!” Her character highlights how women are not believed and pushed aside when men commit violence against them. I also like the inclusion of her character because it takes the spotlight off of Alcala and instead spotlights the women.
The last detail of the film I want to point out is less to do with the storyline and more about building tension. There’s a scene where Alcala and Sheryl are in a parking lot after getting drinks and Alcala asks Sheryl to recite her phone number. He does this because he suspects she gave him a fake, which she did. Sheryl became very weary of Alcala while out for drinks, so she does not want to be in contact with this man. Before she tries to dig herself out of this hole, Alcala says that her giving him a fake number probably means they will not go out again. She admits that this is true and he says they will see each other around. He also mumbles under his breath that he is going to bash her head in. She asks him to clarify, but he never responds, so she turns to start walking toward her car. While walking to her car, Alcala waits a few paces before following her. There is no music in this scene, which emphasizes the clack of Sheryl’s heels and her labored breath. I thought this built the tension really well and it personally made me feel like Alcala was the one walking behind me, not Sheryl.
To conclude, I very much enjoyed watching Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut. I thought the choices she made that spotlighted women and took the focus off of Alcala, made this film a very worthwhile watch. I hope that Kendrick continues to explore the avenue of directing, and I will definitely tune in if she decides to direct again.
Kate Goranson – Blog Editor & Prose Editor: Kate is a Junior majoring in English with a Literature/Language Concentration. She works at the Writing Center during the week and a banquet hall on the weekends. She has been playing violin since 5th grade and has also picked up guitar and singing. During her free time she likes to go to the movies with her friends, nap with her cat and thrift shop. Some of her favorite authors include Sally Rooney and Madeline Miller.