Critics Are Saying Woman Of The Hour Isn’t Your Typical Serial Killer Thriller, As Anna Kendrick Makes Her ‘Unsettling’ Directorial Debut

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Anna Kendrick has done so much in her career as an actor, including earning nominations for a Tony, Emmy and Academy Award. And now she’s added another feather to her cap. Woman of the Hour, which hits the 2024 Netflix schedule on October 18, is Kendrick’s directorial debut in which she also stars as bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw. The based-on-a-true-crime thriller follows serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), who amidst his murder spree was a contestant on The Dating Game. Critics were able to screen the film ahead of its release, so what are they saying about Kendrick in this new role?

Fans have been excited about Woman of the Hour since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and now that it’s hit the 2024 movie release calendar, let the critics help you decide if you want to make this part of your weekend bingefest. Our own Corey Chichizola calls it a “triumphant masterclass in tension,” writing:

Kendrick’s pacing for the movie pitch perfect (pun intended), balancing funny moments from the TV show’s filming process with grisly murders. When Cheryl and Rodney end up spending time together, background noise and music stops, allowing for chilling silence and dread to accompany their interaction. I found myself chewing on my nails and pen as anxiety grew and the movie’s ingénue was put into danger.

David Fear of Rolling Stone notes the way Anna Kendrick has taken a story about a serial killer and made it a statement on the way society treated — and continues to treat — women. Fear says:

A serial killer thriller, a Seventies’ kitsch-fest, a catalog of vintage sexism doused in irony, the impressive directorial debut of Anna Kendrick and the latest Netflix movie to grace your ‘because you watched Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ algorithm — Woman of the Hour is a lot of things. But what this unsettling, undeniably compelling look back at an odd collision of psychopathy and pop culture is getting at beneath its paisley-patterned decor goes beyond just one mass murderer and a lot of skeezy game-show innuendos.

Ella Kemp of Empire rates it 3 out of 5 stars, saying that Anna Kendrick shows promise as a director by making a serial-killer thriller that’s less about the murderer and more a tribute to the voices he silenced. Kemp continues:

More a social commentary than a pulpy thriller, the film spends longer listening to the women who were long ignored — those who suspected him, those who trusted him, those who reported him — than ogling his crimes. You don’t need to see evil inflicted on a woman to feel her suffering. Kendrick plays actor/fellow contestant Sheryl Bradshaw with a precise focus and determination she’s rarely been allowed in the peppier roles of her career — Pitch Perfect, this is not. In Woman Of The Hour, you’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, but somewhat relieved when you don’t have to see it happen.

Anna McKibbin of the AV Club gives Woman of the Hour a B, calling the director’s debut effort “ambitious,” as she’s not satisfied to simply gesture toward the magnitude of misogyny. In McKibbin’s words:

Covering events from the late ‘70s, Woman Of The Hour is somewhat undermined by the digitized, overly saturated images that persist through Netflix period films. But this doesn’t impede Kendrick from carving out important frames with a sculpturer’s precision. She never lingers on the rape and murder Alcala’s victims suffered, but she doesn’t avoid it either. We may only see a woman crawl through her unpacked apartment from an overhead window with Alcala in hot pursuit, or a woman’s wriggling torso dragged through the dirt towards her captor, but all of it is painstakingly framed, sharpened in its briefness.

Kristy Puchko of Mashable, however, says Anna Kendrick fumbles her attempt to tell a true crime story by trying to blend her signature humor into the murderer’s grisly tale. By using cliched setups to tell the stories of Rodney Alcala’s victims, they are reduced to cautionary tales and an uncomplicated “all men are bad” narrative, Puchko says, writing:

As true crime media evolves, there's been a push from activists and audiences to focus on the victims or the heroes over glamorizing the killer. To be fair, Kendrick doesn't seem interested in Alcala's motives or background. Actor Daniel Zovatto offers a low-boil portrayal of the smirking serial killer, revealing how a bit of kindness might be a hook. Woman of the Hour doesn't fall prey to treating Alcala as special or especially clever, mostly just bold enough to trust in institutional misogyny to not only ignore all his red flags but also the women who would speak out against him. However, the script cherry-picks his story to package a concise yet grisly thriller with that oh-so-marketable true crime edge. Yet it tells us nothing new — about rape culture, police apathy, or even Alcala and his victims.

Woman of the Hour is receiving mostly positive reviews, earning a Certified Fresh 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you want to check out Anna Kendrick’s highly anticipated directorial debut (or any of Netflix’s other most binge-worthy programming), you can do so now, as the film became available to stream with a Netflix subscription on October 18.