Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut in “Woman of the Hour” was released on Netflix on Oct. 18. It’s based on the true story of Rodney Alcala, who during his murder spree, appeared on the TV show “The Dating Game.” Kendrick also stars as Cheryl, a struggling actress whose agent suggests she go on the show to be seen. The story is told in both the past and present, showing Rodney’s victims along with the filming of the show. It depicts many of the women who encountered the murderer and their stories while also showing the systematic issues that let people down and allowed him to evade capture for nearly a decade.
Spoilers ahead! Also, a trigger warning for physical assault, sexual assault and murder.
The film opens in Wyoming in 1977. We meet Rodney as he’s out in the middle of the desert taking photos of a woman. He gets her to open up about her breakup and why she’s come to Wyoming, and only then does he strangle her. Cut to 1978 in Los Angeles, where we see Cheryl auditioning for a role and getting turned down. Later, she’s on the phone with her agent, Helen, questioning why she even came to L.A. if she’s not going to book anything. After confessing that she’s struggling to pay her rent, Helen suggests that Cheryl goes on the show “The Dating Game” in hopes of getting her big break. Begrudgingly, Cheryl agrees to do it.
We cut to another flashback and meet Amy, a runaway who sleeps on the street and occasionally steals things. Rodney sees her sitting under the stairs of a motel and talks her up, saying she is beautiful and would love to take pictures of her. Meanwhile, in the present, Cheryl is getting ready to film her episode, and we meet the showrunner, Ed Burke, who is based on Jim Lange, the show’s real host at the time. Immediately, Ed makes sexist comments toward Cheryl, talking about her body and telling her to play dumb so as to not intimidate the bachelors.
The next flashback goes all the way back to 1971 in New York. Here we see Charlie, a flight attendant, moving into a new apartment. Movers drop off all her stuff but don’t stay to help get it into her place. Rodney happens to be across the street and after helping Charlie with her stuff, they sit down to have a beer and talk. After a while, Charlie makes the notion that she has to unpack and get her things situated. Rodney doesn’t take the hint and, instead, gets up with his camera and asks to take her picture. He attacks her, bashing her head into the ground and strangling her with a scarf.
Back in 1978, the show begins and we meet the bachelors as they introduce themselves to Cheryl. The first bachelor stumbles over his words, the second immediately gives off weird and sexist energy and the third bachelor, Rodney, seems mysterious. In the audience, there is an audience member who sees Rodney and starts to freak out. She rushes to leave the studio and trips over cables knocking over a TV, halting filming. We see her remembering meeting Rodney and leaving her friend Alison at the beach with him. The next morning, she was found raped and killed.
During the break, the hair and makeup ladies come over to give Cheryl a touch-up and she confides in them that she’s feeling uncomfortable playing the part Ed wants from her. They tell her to go rogue; what’re they going to do? Fire her? When the filming starts again, Cheryl starts asking her own questions. The first and second bachelor’s quickly start stumbling and saying the wrong things. Rodney, however, is winning over the audience and Cheryl with his charming and seemingly “correct” answers. At the end of the show, Cheryl picks Rodney and they’re gifted with an all-expense trip to Carmel, Cali.
After the show, Rodney asks Cheryl out for drinks, and she reluctantly agrees. She’s very uneasy around him now that they’re one-on-one and when he tries to order a second round of drinks, she knows it’s time to go. As she goes to leave, Rodney wants to walk with her to her car. He asks for her number, and she gives him a fake one. He realizes and threateningly whispers to her. She races back to her car and is almost attacked by Rodney, but escapes once people from the studio leave at the same time.
The movie ends with Cheryl leaving Los Angeles. In 1979, we see Amy beaten and Rodney crying. She convinces him that she’s embarrassed about what happened and asks him if they can return to his place. On the way, they stop at a gas station and she’s able to escape. Soon after, the cops arrive and arrest him.
The postscript of the movie shares what happened to Cheryl and Rodney afterward. Cheryl left to live a private life and have a family. Rodney was put out on bail awaiting trial when he killed two more people. In 2010, he had the chance of acquittal, but the runaway who was now a grown woman testified against him, and he ended up dying in prison.
This movie was very well done. I think it portrayed the fear of violence women have toward men and the misogyny that was so prominent back then and still is present to this day. Kendrick did a fantastic job, and the movie has been well-received. I do wish we had seen Amy’s testimony that put the nail in the coffin for Rodney’s trial, but other than that, I can’t wait to see what Kendrick does next.
Rating: 4/5 Stars