‘Woman of the Hour’ – A tremendous true-crime tale

Earlier this year, Zoe Kravitz put her best foot forward with her directorial début, Blink Twice. Her semi-satire confronts classism and misogyny with exceptional cinematography and a masterful grasp of tone. Watching Woman of the Hour gives a sense of déjà vu, as Anna Kendrick plays double duty for the first time, starring and directing a harrowing story with fervent skill.

The story here is far from comforting, especially given its roots in reality. Kendrick plays a dating game contestant, making small talk with three anonymous men. It’s harmless fun if you ignore the latent misogyny that was deemed acceptable in the 1970s. Kendrick portrays a struggling actress trying to survive the litany of intrusive comments about her body, constant objectification, and harassment.

The discomfort doesn’t just come from men, either. The film shows the entrenched nature of sexism, with women propagating the same viewpoints that keep them without agency. Some moments are so absurd they’re comical, only to have a chilling effect when taken in with the film’s violence.

Daniel Zovatta plays the monster of the film, Rodney Alcala, a real-life serial killer whose actions went unpunished for years, allowing him to join a fun-loving game show as a contestant. Zovatta is smooth on the surface but hides a sinister urge. He’s able to coast as an everyman with no suspicion, and uses his unsuspecting nature as a ruse to commit his crimes.

Much like Blink Twice, the film makes a point to showcase the importance of women supporting women in dismantling a misogynistic structure. The movie demonstrates a causal link between Alcala’s actions and the society that permits the flagrant harassment of women. Each off-colour joke, active condescension, or even a scene in which a woman who recognises Alcala and knows of his true nature is patronised into ignoring her fear– all feel like the building blocks for a system that facilitates a constant threat to women.

It’s without doubt a petrifying premise and one that Kendrick depicts so deftly. The camera often acts as a voyeur, creeping through a window or just past a doorway, particularly in showing Alcala’s crimes. The film shows multiple of Alcala’s victims in brutal ways, making it all the more terrifying every time he’s on screen.

In a season in which film lovers are consuming all manner of monsters, mayhem and murder, Woman of the Hour presents a figure far more terrifying than Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger. The creature you can see that presents as normal to the world feels inescapable. Kendrick’s performance is exhilarating. Stressful in almost every scene, with an underlying hope that she can make it out alive and in a better state than when we meet her. It’s a performance matched only by her incredible work behind the camera.

Rating: Big Screen Watch

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.