Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Tense '70s-set serial killer story; violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Woman of the Hour
What's the Story?
In WOMAN OF THE HOUR, Sheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) is a struggling actress trying to start her career in Los Angeles. When her agent gets her a high-profile spot on the TV game show The Dating Game, Sheryl reluctantly accepts. What she doesn't know and can't expect is that one of her three eligible bachelors, Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), is actually a serial killer who has yet to be caught. On the night of the show, a woman (Nicolette Robinson) in attendance recognizes Alcala and tries to warn the producers, but she is ignored there and also later at a police station. Separately, we see flashbacks to a handful of Alcala's killings. One is teenage runaway Amy (Autumn Best), who might prove to be different.
Is It Any Good?
Kendrick's directorial debut shows great potential in her ability to blend moods, her sense of pacing to build suspense, and her visual eye for what to put in frame—and what to leave out. Woman of the Year could be accused of skating on the surface of the perpetrator's horrific criminal record. Zovatto's Alcala is appropriately creepy, but the film makes pains not to dwell too much on the actual crimes, which are seen in flashbacks that cut away at key moments and get at a small fraction of his alleged crimes.
Instead, Kendrick seems more interested in conveying the era's rampant sexism. Men are depicted on a predator range that runs from needy neighbors and single-minded bachelors to dismissive and insulting authority figures to a serial killer nearly getting away with an estimated 130 murders. Female viewers in particular are likely to find something to relate to, despite the generational changes, whether that be the gut-level terror of a man following you in a parking lot or the frustration of being ignored, underestimated, or disbelieved.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Woman of the Hour depicts the murders Rodney committed. What is shown versus not shown? What do you think of those choices?
How do Sheryl and Amy show courage in escaping danger? What could they have done differently?
Where could you go to find more information about the real-life convicted killer Rodney Alcala, and learn what has been fictionalized and what has been taken from actual events in this story?
On The Dating Game, Sheryl is provided questions she later replaces with her own. What do these scenes tell you about relations between genders in that time period? What other scenes in the film give you information about this?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 18, 2024
- Cast : Anna Kendrick , Daniel Zovatto , Autumn Best
- Director : Anna Kendrick
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Thriller
- Topics : History
- Character Strengths : Courage
- Run time : 95 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language, violent content, some drug use and a sexual reference
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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