By TeeJay Petit | Published
Netflix subscribers may have already heard about the new true story thriller Woman of the hourreleased on the streamer on October 18. Although the film is still fairly new, it has already created a ton of buzz online and is currently ranked number 1 on the Netflix streaming charts. Critics and audiences are full of praise for Woman of the hour with excellent reviews, making the film one of the most praised releases of 2024.
For those who don’t know, Woman of the hour centers on a woman named Sheryl Bradshaw, who tries to launch her new career as a film actress in the rough world of Hollywood in the late 1970s. Although she often fails to impress casting directors during auditions for works of fiction, Bradshaw’s agent convinced her to appear as a contestant in an episode of The dating gamein order to obtain more visibility. Bradshaw reluctantly agrees and is quickly asked leading questions by a panel of three male suitors, offering an all-expenses paid date to the winner.
What neither Sheryl nor the producers of The dating game However, during filming of the series it was realized that one of the male suitors on the panel is a violent serial killer with a number of convictions for sexual assault and child kidnapping on his criminal record. This might be a slight spoiler for Woman of the hourbut the serial killer, Rodney Alcala, actually won the actual episode of The dating game on which the film is based, before escalating its spree of murders and assaults across the country. If the film takes some liberties with the true story, the main lines Woman of the hour are all absolutely true, which makes the film a real favorite.
However Woman of the hour is still fresh on streaming, the film premiered over a year ago at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, which stars Anna Kendrick as Sheryl Bradshaw, also serves as the film’s directorial debut. Dusk actress. Anna Kendrick’s direction was widely praised by critics, audiences, and her own co-stars in the film, making her one of the most exciting new filmmakers to step behind the camera.
Besides Anna Kendrick, Woman of the hour also stars Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best and hilarious comedian Pete Holmes. Audiences around the world have responded well to the terrifying thriller, as evidenced by the film’s near-perfect 91% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Personally, I was quite drawn to the bizarre story of the film, as I had never heard of serial killer Rodney Alcala before its release.
After watching the film, I dove deep into Alcala’s life and his crimes and was absolutely nauseated by what I discovered. Woman of the Hour does a great job of portraying the man as a monster without going overboard and displaying the kind of thing that would give the film an NC-17 rating and get it kicked off any respectable streaming service. The film provides a visual experience that highlights the women affected by Alcala’s crimes, including a brave and resourceful young girl who managed to outwit the violent psychopath.
Those interested in checking out Woman of the hour today we should stream the film on Netflix and keep an eye out for whatever Anna Kendrick does next, both as a performer and as a filmmaker.
WOMAN OF THE HOUR REVIEW NOTE