Cheryl Bradshaw won a date with Rodney Alcala on “The Dating Game” — the TV show equivalent of a blind Tinder date — and thought she had finally escaped the nightmare that is dating in a big city. However, while he promoted himself as a successful photographer on the show, we discover Alcala’s real job is far more startling.
In “Woman of the Hour,” Anna Kendrick’s new Netflix film based on Bradshaw’s date from hell, we discover her supposed beau is not just a photographer, but a serial killer. While he was officially convicted for the deaths of seven people, authorities suspect the total was far higher. And it was at NYU where he started taking photos — a career the movie uses as an introduction to his violent tendencies with women.
The film opens with Rodney (Daniel Zovatto) taking photos of a woman in Wyoming with a medium format camera, an uncomfortable introduction to his character that continues throughout the film. However, while audiences are clued in to Rodney’s manipulative relationship with women, Sheryl (Anna Kendrick) is not. Amidst struggles in her acting career, Rodney steps in as a potential light in her life. As Sheryl remains naive to Rodney’s true nature, the audience is forced to follow along and find out whether or not she will become his next victim.
The set of “The Dating Game” episode she appears in feels tense, using a non-stable camera that bobs with the movement of its characters as Sheryl preps for her 15 minutes of fame. The framing of the live taping is executed well, quickly and seamlessly swapping between different angles and perspectives of the taping to show us what happened on the stage that day. What makes the film even more impressive is that it was directed by Kendrick, who became “particularly invested” in the project and decided to take up the director’s chair — her first time ever doing so. Creating a multi-angled, environmental shoot is no small feat, and to take up the role of director after initially signing onto the project as just an actress is a good sign for what Kendrick has in store as the next actress-director on the block.
The film brilliantly takes advantage of Rodney’s career as a photographer to turn his gaze into a weapon, one that flips like a switch from subtle to full-on predator. The way he talks to each woman he sees, asking them to pose for his 35mm cameras, feels akin to underage predators operating under the guise of artists. The uneasy friendliness is a strong spot in Zovatto’s performance. There is a warmth to his voice as he directs the woman he photographs, yet there is an undertone of violence the viewer quickly learns to pick up on.
The film, however, does have its faults. The date between Sheryl and Rodney in the show never even happened in real life — Bradshaw was reportedly uncomfortable with Alcala and refused the date afterward. Since parts of the story were fictionalized anyway, Kendrick and the screenwriters could have gotten a lot more uncomfortable with the date. While its outcome is grounded in a realistic scenario for some, it ends on an unsatisfying point.
While Sheryl didn’t end up becoming one of a slew of victims, the film nonetheless excels in its uncomfortability — a clear depiction of the red flags its viewers should be made aware of. We exist at a time in dating history where people always have to be on edge and trust their gut, and “Woman of the Hour” is a lesson in trust and natural instinct.
Contact Jason Alpert-Wisnia at [email protected].
