Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Anna Kendrick
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Pete Holmes, Autumn Best, Kathryn
Gallagher, Kelley Jakle
In 1978, a woman named Cheryl Bradshaw found herself in the role of the
"bachelorette" on an episode of The Dating Game. Her job was to choose from
one of three "bachelors", who were hidden behind a screen, by asking them a
serious of questions and determining their suitability for a date by their
answers. On shows like this, the guys do their best to provide witty answers
and come off as charming, but the reality is that the woman is simply trying
to determine which of them is the least creepy. After asking a series of
questions, Cheryl decided that the least creepy bachelor was a 35-year-old
named Rodney Alcala. Ironically, Rodney was a serial killer who had murdered
at least five women at that point and would go on to claim more
victims.
Anna Kendrick's directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, sees Kendrick cast herself in the role of Cheryl, though it's a heavily
fictionalised account of her experience. Here, Cheryl is an aspiring actress
who is about to quit Los Angeles due to her inability to find work. We meet
her first as she endures a degrading audition in which two men tactlessly
discuss her physical appearance before dismissing her. Cheryl's agent can't
find her any acting roles, but she does land her a spot as the bachelorette
on The Dating Game.
Much of the film is devoted to the recording of the show, with Cheryl
sarcastically mocking the whole setup, much to the annoyance of show host Ed
Burke (Tony Hale). The real host was Jim Lange but given how Ed is
portrayed as a racist and misogynist here, the filmmakers probably didn't
want to get sued for defamation. Unaware of the true nature of bachelor
number three, Cheryl begins to unironically enjoy herself. Meanwhile, behind
the scenes, audience member Laura (Nicolette Robinson) recognises
Rodney (Daniel Zovatto) as the man her friend was last seen with
before she was murdered. Laura's attempts to warn Cheryl are thwarted by
various disbelieving male figures, including her boyfriend and a security
guard who sends her on a wild goose chase.
The Dating Game segment is actually the weakest part of Kendrick's film,
largely because Cheryl has been rewritten in a way that makes her seem as
though she's a 21st century woman who has travelled back in time to 1978.
The witty questions she asks her potential dates come off as the product of
a screenwriter's mind and are a million miles from the goofy questions the
real Cheryl asked. In this version Cheryl rewrites her questions in a manner
that exposes bachelor number one as a moron and bachelor number two as a
sexist oaf, but it's impossible to accept that the show would allow itself
to be hijacked in such a manner. The implied suggestion that Cheryl
outwitted Rodney because of her intelligence feels a little offensive to the
women who didn't survive their encounters with the killer. Laura's subplot
is never quite as tense as it should be, largely because unlike Cheryl and
the other women that cross paths with Rodney, we know Laura is a fictional
creation, one shoehorned in for extra drama the film doesn't need.
When Woman of the Hour gets away from the bright lights of
the Dating Game studio it really comes alive. Cheryl and Rodney never
actually went on a date in reality, but Kendrick and screenwriter
Ian McDonald invent a scenario where the pair go on an impromptu date
immediately after shooting their episode. Zovatto and Kendrick brilliantly
portray the change in mood as Rodney's initial charm turns to something more
menacing when Cheryl makes the mistake of laughing at a statement she was
supposed to be impressed by. The scene plays out in a very era-specific
tacky tiki bar, and the garish red lighting becomes almost expressionistic
as Cheryl realises she's put herself in a dangerous situation. A subsequent
walk to Cheryl's car is imbued with an agonising sense of dread.
Along with detailing Cheryl, the film gives us glimpses of some of the
women who didn't survive Rodney, and one who did. It's these sequences that
really show the strength of Kendrick's directorial talent. We've seen so
many women killed by men on screen at this point that it can be difficult
for a filmmaker to make them impactful. But Kendrick's sequences stand out
as the work of a woman who identifies with the fear of allowing the wrong
man to get too close. She focusses not on the physical violence, but on the
moment when the victims suddenly realise Rodney's intentions. Kendrick makes
sure that we see the terror in each woman's eyes, and it's so starkly real
that it's difficult to watch.
As the woman most responsible for Rodney's eventual capture,
Autumn Best is revelatory as Amy (a fictionalised version of Monique
Holt), a teenage runaway who finds herself in Rodney's clutches but cleverly
turns the tables with some reverse psychology that robs him of his power for
just long enough. Cheryl doesn't become a victim of Rodney, but she's a
victim of a misogynistic society that can't keep its grubby hands out of her
hair; at one point she sleeps with a neighbour simply because she's
terrified of how he might react if he feels offended by her rejection.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Woman of the Hour is the
implication that women are often forced to degrade themselves to survive,
that the best they can hope for is to be violated on their own terms.
Woman of the Hour is on Netflix
from October 18th.
