Woman of the Hour
Directed by Anna KendrickWoman of the Hour is based on the stranger-than-fiction true story of Cheryl Bradshaw and Rodney Alcala. Bradshaw was a bachelorette on the hit '70s TV matchmaking show The Dating Game and chose handsome and funny bachelor No. 3, Rodney Alcala. But behind Alcala's charming facade was a deadly secret: He was a psychopathic serial killer.
Where to Watch Woman of the Hour
Cast of Woman of the Hour
Woman of the Hour Ratings & Reviews
- parcolanJune 9, 2025Very good, recommend
- nightowlyyJuly 22, 2025smart women
- cgbranniganJanuary 25, 2025It was fine. Could have been better. Was expecting a true crime story but just part way through was clear a lot of it was fictionalised which I’ve since confirmed. Might have been a better movie if it was more true to real events.
- DrinelsonJuly 3, 2025This was crazy. Such a good movie. If I wouldn’t have already known about this case, I would’ve had a hard time believing that this actually happened. Some of it is fiction but the main parts did truly happen. This man is twisted and horrible. The things that he would do is insane. And he went on a dating show in the middle of his killing spree… diabolical.
- Kevin WardJuly 1, 2025Assured debut feature from Anna Kendrick. Can’t wait to see what she does next. Less about a serial killer and more of a portrait of what it is to be a woman in this world. Every interaction a calculation taking place. Even outside of the game show a determination to be made. “Which one of you will hurt me?” Really loved this. Was deserving of theatrical distribution. Production values looked gorgeous. Highly recommend.
- JohnJune 19, 2025This true story about a serial killer that got onto a dating show in the 70's is worth the watch. I wish the film had been structured differently and spent more time on the other victims instead of the show itself because those scenes were so powerfully done while the ones about the show felt cheesy
- James KearneyDecember 2, 2024I do love a good true story and this one really makes you think about how bad a person can be.
- Rob Logan | The Geek GenerationJanuary 14, 2025Solid first directorial effort by Anna Kendrick. The film looked great and it's properly tense, but suffers from some pacing issues as it jumps between multiple character perspectives. I understand that it's based on a true story, but I felt like it needed to take some liberties to make the plot feel like a more cohesive story as opposed to separate vignettes.
- EdwardJanuary 7, 2025This movie tries too hard to be too many things. It follows the trendy approach of having parallel plots without having direction. We never meet any of the characters long enough to properly care about them. I really wish there had just been more focus on a singular timeline.
- DJOctober 29, 2024The movie follows the crimes of Rodney Alcala in the late 70’s. Anna Kendrick picked a humdinger for her directorial debut. While she’s great (as usual) and the cast is as well it definitely has some pain points that distract from the film, such as pacing. Again, for a directorial debut it’s solid and the cast and story are as well. Expect some good suspense along the way as well.
- Randy HoopesOctober 29, 2024Really good true story.
- vangh1October 29, 2024I thought the concept of this movie was a little bit quirky and fun despite the plot revolving around a serial killer, and wow did this thing prove me wrong inside of the first scene. Incredibly hard to watch, incredibly sombre, incredibly harrowing despite Anna Kendrick bringing her trademark charisma in front of the camera, and a surprisingly adept touch from behind it. She takes a sort of empathetic path to the tone, with a number of scenes wrapping the lighting and score around the subject of the scene's mental state, pulling us as the viewer into the same state. It works far more often than it doesn't (The Great: Sheryl and Rod in the restaurant and the subsequent parking lot scene / The Less than Great: Laura waiting in a studio lobby and it's shot like the scariest horror movie you've ever seen) I've seen a lot of complaints about the structure and lack of chronological consistency as the story progresses, but I thought they doled information out at the right pace, in the right order. We open the movie in 1977 learning he is a killer before he's on the show. Then we jump to '78 where we learn he's on the show. Then we're in '79 and we learn he's still free and hunting young women, but we don't know about Sheryl's fate. The jump back to '71 indicates he's been doing what he's doing and getting away with it for a long time. And the movie labels each time line clearly so I thought it worked at providing new information in a non-confusing way. I was surprised to see so many people have issue with it. I'm generally not a fan of serial killer movies (and I'm sure I've said this in past reviews) because I've heard about war movies "It's impossible to depict them without glorifying them" and I definitely think that's the case with serial killers to some degree. There's no doubt this is a very empathetic take from the victim's perspectives, there's no doubt they show far more of Rod's horrors than humanizing moments or excuses for his violence but there's a marked difference between reading about his charm in a journalistic article and seeing it performed and feeling its effects. I think almost every male character is either actively a horrible person or stands idly by while it's clear some other man is being a horrible person and so the women are left to fend for themselves (or at best settle for an encouraging word from another female) which as I see it speaks to the failings of the systems and society at large that allowed Rodney to do what he did for so long without consequence. The climactic sequence with Autumn Best is equal parts bone chilling and awe-inspiring. Her performance throughout is phenomenal, but especially leading into the final sequence. I hate having to assign star ratings to movies after experiences like this. It's undeniably better than a 3.5 star movie, but I just struggle so much with true crime and serial killers stories on such a fundamental level that I can't give it any higher a score.
- rg9400October 27, 2024Woman of the Hour is most compelling when focused around Anna Kendrick, but despite the brisk 95 minute runtime, it often cuts away from her and her storyline to follow other characters, sometimes at different points in time, creating a sense of choppiness that eventually makes the story lack cohesiveness. Her character joins a dating show that features a serial killer, while other segments show the serial killer operating throughout time. Those segments are not told chronologically, and sometimes even they get split up across multiple scenes. This prevents the movie from really having any sort of flow to it. For example, they'll suddenly jump forward in time, then back in time, then forward again to the earlier story. The worst part is that there doesn't seem to be a purpose in splicing up the story like this. Because Anna Kendrick is directing, the female perspective prevents the movie from necessarily feeling exploitative in these scenes, but they don't really seem to be building up anything in terms of themes regarding women being ignored (much better explored in Kendrick's own storyline). I think the end goal was to just showcase how creepy the killer was and how dangerous simple interactions can be for women, but this did not require the strange editing decisions. More importantly, it distracts from the dating show storyline which is the most engaging part of the movie, both in terms of delivering themes as well as just in terms of making me invested in what was happening. Unfortunately, the other scenes distract from this story. However, by the end, this dating show story doesn't actually make that much of a difference, and that's probably why she felt the need to include the rest of the scenes...it isn't a complete story on its own. I respect the noticeable changes in the way the killer and his killings are depicted due to the female perspective, and I liked seeing her tackle some of the more casual misogyny, but I think she was unable to spin it all together into a cohesive whole.
- Tony GibsonOctober 23, 2024average. couldve been a lot better directed
- SpoonsOctober 22, 2024Woman of the Hour tells the unsettling true-crime story of Rodney Alcala, the serial killer who appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game in the 1970s. The film cleverly balances its exploration of Alcala’s horrifying crimes with a chilling portrayal of how he slipped under the radar of both law enforcement and the public, even managing to charm his way onto a popular TV show. Anna Kendrick, who also directs the film, plays Cheryl Bradshaw, the bachelorette unknowingly seated across from a killer. Her performance brings a layered sense of vulnerability and tension to the role as she navigates the discomfort and unease of interacting with Alcala. Kendrick’s direction is taut and effective, never shying away from the disturbing reality behind the game show’s glitzy façade. However, if you are familiar with the true story of Cheryl Bradshaw you will know that the way she asked questions and conducted herself on the show was not as slick and smart as she is portrayed by Anna Kendrick. This makes the film feel like a highly fictional version of a real harrowing story. What makes Woman of the Hour so compelling is its focus on the juxtaposition between the light-hearted, almost absurd tone of The Dating Game and the dark, sinister reality of Alcala’s crimes. The film captures this contrast well, heightening the discomfort as viewers witness Alcala’s charm mask his true nature. The slow-burn tension throughout keeps you on edge, particularly in scenes where Alcala’s sociopathic tendencies peek through his charismatic exterior. While the film handles its dark subject matter with care, it does so without glorifying the killer or delving too deeply into gratuitous violence. Instead, it highlights the disturbing ways society can overlook danger when it comes wrapped in an attractive, charming package. Woman of the Hour is a chilling reminder of how evil can hide in plain sight, and Kendrick’s performance and direction elevate the story into a thought-provoking thriller. This film will be popular with fans of true-crime dramas like Zodiac and Mindhunter, especially those interested in unsettling stories about real-life horrors hidden beneath the surface of everyday life.
