Lamar Reviews - Woman of the Hour (Airdate 10/25/2024)

Anna Kendrick is one of those actors who every time you watch her you wonder, “Why is she not a more Bonafide movie star?” She is memorable in every role she takes. She got a lot of exposure in the Twilight movies, but her claim to fame at this point is the Pitch Perfect movies. She gets to show off not only her razor sharp wit, but also her acting talent, and the fact that she can really sing. She was really good in 50\50 as a therapist treating a cancer patient played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The most critically acclaimed movie on her resume is Up In The Air with George Clooney back in 2009.

This time she is directing the movie she is in. It is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala who managed to stay under the radar until he was convicted of killing seven women and girls in 1980. He is suspected of killing more than 100.

Over the course of every woman’s life, she can tell you times that a stranger asked them uncomfortable questions or followed them down a lonely street. Of a first date that just didn’t seem right, and there was not a second. Or maybe a lot of dates with a guy that seemed great, but he turned out to be an obsessive jerk that frightened her, or worse. This is the subject that “Woman of the Hour” tackles.

Most movies about serial killers show the extreme violence and horrible death of the victims, forcing you to deal with the emotions of not wanting to see it, but being unable to look away. Kendricks doesn’t put us through that. It is not that she doesn’t shock the audience with the horrific thing these women go through, quite the opposite, she shows how easy it is to wind up in that position and shows the outcome. This allows our imagination to fill in the gap without having the opportunity to turn away. She doesn’t downplay the violent thing that has happened, she just doesn’t make the violence the star of what happened.

You have to pay attention because the film is full of time jumps and shifts in perspective. The movie starts with Rodney, played by Daniel Zovatto, murdering a woman. We skip ahead and see Sheryl, played by Kendricks, a struggling actress, in the middle of an audition where she is being objectified by casting directors. Then we go back to Rodney picking another victim. Then we go back to Sheryl getting put on the Dating Game by her agent. Then we are back to Rodney hunting victims. Then we are on the Dating Game where Rodney has become a contestant.

The movie is 1 hour 35 minutes, Rated-R for language, violence, and subject matter.

I think Ann Kendrick has done a great job with the first film she has directed. This is just another arrow in her quiver of talents. I hope she gets the career she deserves.

Women especially will be drawn to this film, it is from a woman’s perspective. We men need to watch it because we can never truly understand a woman’s perspective.

My Score: 5 Budweisers