Following the enticing teaser trailer released in September, the official trailer has now arrived for Woman of the Hour, the highly anticipated Netflix film marking Anna Kendrick‘s directorial debut. Watch it above.
Based on a true story, the film centres around one of the most bizarre and chilling moments in American television history, when in 1978, a notorious serial killer found his next potential victim on a blind-dating TV show. Kendrick takes on the role of Sheryl Bradshaw, a contestant on The Dating Game. Unbeknownst to her, Bachelor #3, Rodney Alcala, is a serial killer, a man who would later be known as the Dating Game Killer.
Initially, Kendrick was only attached to star in the film but eventually decided to direct as well. “Once I pitched myself to direct the movie, I realised that I love the character, but I love the movie as a whole significantly more than I love the character,” the star explained to Netflix site Tudum. Kendrick saw something deeper in the story: “I really like the complicated journey of a woman who is shrinking herself and being very pleasing and then manages to rebel and take back some power. I love the fact that it isn’t as simple as, ‘Oh, she asserts herself and everything works out great.’ Because this is the bargain we’re making every day: How much do I live authentically, and how much danger does that actually put me in?”
Screenwriter Ian McDonald, whose script landed on the Black List in 2017, echoed Kendrick’s perspective, explaining, “When Anna signed on to direct, she said the thing she always found interesting was that it’s a movie about the danger that comes with our willingness to be intimate with another person.” He continued, “That’s the case every time you go on a date with someone you don’t know—you’re making yourself vulnerable. Of course, the flip side is you also don’t want to close yourself off to the world.”
The film shifts the focus from the serial killer to his victims, aiming to depict the broader impact of his crimes. As Kendrick noted, “I’m not really interested in the real Rodney. I was more interested in trying to depict the kind of experience that we are more likely to have.”
Alongside Kendrick, the cast includes Daniel Zovatto as Rodney Alcala, Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, and Kathryn Gallagher.
Woman of the Hour will be streaming on Netflix from 18th October.
