Staff Writer Margo Sautelle reviews Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut and the importance of honouring female instincts.
In today’s dating culture of ‘swipe lefts’, ‘red flags’ and ‘icks’ what would we think of 35-year-old Rodney Alcala? He’s a skydiver, a keen motorcyclist and a fine photographer from Texas. What’s missing from his profile is that he’s also a ruthless serial killer and sex offender. In September 1978, drama teacher and aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw won a date with this very man on the American television game show ‘The Dating Game’.
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut ‘Woman of the Hour’ was released on Netflix October 18th. It is a crime-thriller based on the true story of Rodney Alcala’s killing spree from the years 1971-1979. The film centres back to Sheryl Bradshaw’s experience on ‘The Dating Game’ as a fictionalised version of the bachelorette, played by Kendrick. Both Ian McDonald’s writing and Kendrick’s intricate cinematography explore everyday sexism and violence against women in a chilling and impactful way. We are left to consider if much has changed since the case, or whether today “the question beneath the question remains the same”.
The Killing Game
The year is 1977, and the film begins with Alcala’s murder of a pregnant woman in the plains of Wyoming. Our initial view of the woman is through a camera lens, highlighting Alcala’s ritual of photographing his victims. After encouraging her to open up about her upsetting break-up, he proceeds to strangle her, then revive her, only to strangle her again to death.
Accurate portrayals of his crimes are important, such as the “toying” with his victims as prosecutors have previously described, and the ingratiating tactics used beforehand to lull victims into a false sense of security. In an interview with Jake Hamilton, Kendrick describes a “disarming…boyishness” to Alcala, which may explain his success in not being suspected, even on national television. He tailored his charm to suit what an individual wanted to hear, highlighting the struggle for these women to recognise that they were in the presence of someone predatory.
Flipping The Script
Before his appearance on the show, Alcala had already killed at least four women, and as mentioned in the film’s postscript, he would kill soon after, with authorities providing an estimate of over 100 victims during the period. In various timelines of the film, however, when the recognition hits and the victim’s sense of danger is alerted, it is often already too late.
That said, for Sheryl Bradshaw, this is not the case. Her story acts as a lesson to trust our instincts; one of the most intriguing ways that ‘Woman of the Hour’ conveys this is through the directorial choice to use the victim’s perspective, instead of Alcala’s. The film does not explore the killer’s background or psychological workings, or even depict the graphic sexual violence enacted against these women, which would implicate his own gaze as the perpetrator. Instead of using cinematography to normalise the objectification of women on film, Kendrick uses it to explore the misogynistic themes surrounding this true-crime narrative, to uncover a culture that enabled Alcala’s crimes.
“What are Girls For?”
As Kendrick notes, the footage of ‘The Dating Game’ episode in its entirety “appears to have been lost to time”. The director therefore used this “vacuum” to create a fictionalised version of the real Cheryl, imagining her pushing the sexist boundaries of the 70’s show. In the film, Sheryl chooses not to take host Ed Burke’s demoralising advice to “laugh and smile over and over”. Rather, she goes off-script, having ‘fun’ with the ditsy carefree role she’s been assigned to as bachelorette by posing thought-provoking questions such as: “What are girls for?”.
Behind the scenes of the show, particularly when conversing with the hair and make-up team, Sheryl is able to drop her performance and it is in this space that poignant culture truths come to surface. The make-up artist reassures her that whichever words the bachelorette uses, “the question beneath the question remains the same”, delivered in a matter-of-fact way: “Which one of you will hurt me?”. This question of violence against women remains “at the heart of the film”.
Kendrick has expressed her interest in the themes “around the way that women have to shrink and bend just to get through the day”, and this journey of everyday sexism is explored through the stories of multiple women in the film. Laura, for example, is an audience member of the show, who recognises Alcala as a connection to her friend’s murder. Her unsuccessful attempt to alert the show’s security, and later the police to look into Alcala as a suspect, illustrates how a culture which refused to protect women ultimately accommodated Alcala’s crimes.
Spot The Red Flag
After the dating show, Kendrick’s interpretation of a “creepy” encounter which had taken place between Cheryl and Rodney displays the female struggle poignantly. They share a date at a Tiki bar, though Sheryl soon feels uncomfortable and signals the waitresses’ help in getting her out of the situation. Unfortunately, this silent female exchange is a universal language many of us know too well. Rodney’s ego is bruised when his charm loses its shine on Sheryl, after paying a compliment which simply lacks correlation – that her “soul” has a “Patti Smith vibration”. In this way, his downfall with Sheryl is presented as a failure to recognise the individuality of the woman he targets.
In the following car park scene, our senses are heightened through the cinematography when Alcala mutters a murderous threat under his breath. Mid-shots involving the empty car park emphasise Sheryl’s sudden sense of exposure, and the lack of lighting on Alcala’s expression provides an insight into her paranoia. Like his expression, Alcala’s intentions are unclear, and Kendrick skilfully captures a common female feeling of uncertainty, in a sense of safety and in who or what to trust.
To conclude, aside from its fascinating true-crime narrative, ‘Woman of the Hour’ centres around the women involved in Rodney Alcala’s crimes, humanising these victims and reclaiming their individual narratives. Kendrick’s directorial debut sends a powerful message to honour female instincts; we need to listen to those who raise alarms and pay attention to glaring red flags. Only then will we move forward in combatting violence against women in today’s society.
