Woman of the Hour (2023)

November 4, 2024 3:15 PM

Cheryl Bradshaw, a single woman looking for a suitor on a hit 1970s TV show, chooses charming bachelor Rodney Alcala, unaware that, behind the man's gentle facade, he hides a deadly secret. Currently on Netflix. Content warnings for sexual violence.

This is Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut. She donated the proceeds to RAINN

posted by bunderful (5 comments total)

Here's a thing I didn't know until the publicity for this movie began: Before his capture, Alcala worked in the Manhattan office of insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield. Someone else working in that office during that time was Richard Cottingham, aka the "Times Square Ripper", who was convicted of 18 murders and claimed to have committed dozens more. Not that they were office mates or anything, but they definitely did work in the same building.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 4:15 PM on November 4 [4 favorites]

The film portrays a constant culture of predation and misogyny. Only one male character is a killer but the women in the show have to be constantly on guard - we see what happens if they aren’t.
posted by bunderful at 4:55 PM on November 4 [5 favorites]

The film portrays a constant culture of predation and misogyny. Only one male character is a killer but the women in the show have to be constantly on guard - we see what happens if they aren’t.

Bingo. The theme of the movie is this, from beginning to end. Enjoyed this film, but it was intense, especially the murder scenes. I appreciate that Kendrick filmed them from a non-glorifying (i.e., horror film, exploitative) fashion. They're brutal and while most of the time the victims aren't even fully in the frame of the camera, it's hard to watch.
posted by Atreides at 1:15 PM on November 5 [2 favorites]

I feel like this goes with the recent Saoirse Ronan "Amirite girls!" moment. The movie is about events in the 70s, but it could so easily be about today, which is the real horror.
posted by Illusory contour at 3:00 PM on November 5 [2 favorites]

Anna Kendrick is my new hero
posted by kokaku at 1:18 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]