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Woman of the Hour

Carolina Santander


Woman of the Hour is an insightful thriller that explores the story of serial killer Rodney Alcala. However, even though this movie is based on Alcala’s crimes, it is so much more than that, truly encapsulating women’s experiences when they are vulnerable. 


The film is constantly shifting between the 7 women Alcala was convicted of. The main storyline consists of two women who managed to escape Alcala. One is a beautiful teenager who ran away from home, and the other is an aspiring actress who, despite her long hours of work, remains unsuccessful. 


Cheryl Bradshaw, played by Anna Kendrick, is a working actress who recently moved to Los Angeles. Audition after audition, she is rejected, and her agent suggests appearing at The Dating Game. The game involves one woman talking to three bachelors through a wall. Here, she asks them questions, and based on their answers she chooses who to have a date with. One of the bachelors in Cheryl’s episode is Rodney Alcala. Bradshaw, who was asked to be polite and compliant, asks challenging questions to earn a true response. Alcala responded in pleasing ways, even charismatically, making Bradshaw choose him for a game. 


Amy, interpreted by Autumn Best, is a fugitive. She was abandoned by her father at a young age and her mother suffered from alcoholism. When she moved to Los Angeles she was homeless and met Alcala while smoking a cigarette where he took a picture of her. He coerced her to model for him and after she accepted they rode to a nearby mountain. Here, she was tied and raped by him. Afterward, she convinced him it was okay and they were in a relationship only to escape him. 


In addition to the underlying themes of the movie, it also seeks to show a true story, where Alcala was not only a serial killer but held a job as a photographer. This becomes an important motif throughout the film since Rodney photographs his victims before, during, and after their murder. Because of this pattern, it becomes evident when he has found his new victim since he usually asks to take a picture of them. 


The film does an impeccable job of showing women's reality by focusing on feelings of horror rather than using gore to scare the audience. The movie rarely included moments of violence or physical indicators of rape or murder but the women in the film, as well as Daniel Zovatto, handled the story with thought. Some scenes that stood out the most included Cheryl Bradshaw alone in a parking lot with Alcala. Even if at the moment nothing is truly happening, the fear within the spectator is outstanding, making you want to warn the character. The director and producers also created a safe space for the victims since they never made Rodney Alcala seem like the victim, charismatic yes, but never appealing. This has proven to be a controversial aspect of many other serial killer movies, especially those where women are the victims, where the perpetrator is meant to seem dreamy and handsome rather than a monster. 


Other than the tasteful direction the movie took it also contributed to women truly feeling seen and exposing their reality. Anna Kendrick said herself she aimed to not only focus on the fact the story was about Alcala but how those feelings creep their way into women’s lives. She encapsulates the false sense of safety often broken in a split second and how women tend to continue to protect themselves, similar to what Amy does in the movie, where she pretends to be embarrassed that things had escalated when in reality she was horrified, saving her life and leading to Alcala’s conviction. 


The movie also displays the helplessness women feel when facing the justice system. In the film, a character called Laura recognizes Rodney as the man who murdered her best friend. She is able to recognize him while watching The Dating Game. When she attempts to call the police’s attention to him she is faced with the janitor, implying the company and police do not take her seriously. This is addressed at the end of the movie where it is stated that over 10 people approached the police about Alcala’s behavior and he managed to escape through bail and a lack of attention paid to the victims and their families. 


I highly recommend Woman of the Hour as a horror film of the physiological and emotional kind. It left me and my parents talking about the different victims, the horror, and the masterful way in which Anna Kendrick managed to command the movie for hours!

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