Anna Kendrick has shown time and time again as a star on the screen, with numerous hit roles in projects like Pitcher Perfect, A Simple Favor or her Oscar-nominated turn in Up in the Air. But Kendrick may have just as much talent behind the camera as she does in front of it, as evidenced by her new Netflix movie Woman of the Hour, which served as her feature directorial debut.
Now streaming on Netflix, Woman of the Hour has quickly taken over the most-watched movie spot in the US and UK since its release worldwide on October 18. In addition to the recognition for Kendrick, the movie’s true crime story about a woman who encounters a serial killer when she appears on a hit 1970s TV dating game show certainly appeals to Netflix subscribers’ penchant for the true crime genre. Strong word of mouth doesn’t hurt either, as the movie is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes with a 91%.
I, clearly like many others, watched it over the weekend and my biggest takeaway was the skill that Kendrick showed with her first-ever directing gig. In fact, thinking about it some more I can’t help but make connections to Kendrick’s movie and another true crime classic: David Fincher’s Zodiac.
That may be some rarefied air to many. Not only does Fincher have a devoted fanbase for just about all of his work, but Zodiac in particular holds a special place in people’s view of the director's work as one of his best movies. While I feel Zodiac is probably the stronger of the two, Kendrick’s direction gave me similar feelings I had when watching Fincher’s movie.
Specifically, Woman of the Hour does a phenomenal job of capitalizing on a character’s dread and ramping up the tension in scenes. Throughout the movie, we see a number of Rodney Alcala’s (Daniel Zovatto) murders over the course of a decade. Each time there is just the smallest moment that takes a seemingly innocuous meeting between Rodney and these different women to one of imminent danger.
Since it was already featured in the teaser trailer for the movie, I want to focus on when Sheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) and Rodney have their first date after being paired together on the game show. The conversation is seemingly going fine as Sheryl and Rodney talk about playwrights Sam Shepard and Edward Albee, but a small awkward moment changes the dynamic and Rodney’s demeanor. He is not necessarily saying anything that would signal to Sheryl he is a dangerous killer, but the quiet that settles between every exchange builds the tension up, and every word thereafter raises both Sheryl and the viewer’s alarm.
The scene it reminded me of from Zodiac was when Jake Gyllenhaal’s Robert Graysmith goes alone to the man’s house to follow a lead on a potential Zodiac suspect based on a handwriting sample. When Robert finds out that the man he is talking to is the one whose handwriting he suspects, the entire atmosphere of the scene changes from hope of finding a lead to dread of possibly being in the room with a killer.
That was what came to mind when I watched Woman of the Hour. Kendrick, however, shared many of her own influences in the movie in a video interview with Letterboxd. She references the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men (which also is an incredible builder of tension that I can definitely see upon listening to her talk about it), Agnes Varda’s Le Bonheur, Alan J. Pakula’s Kulte and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows.
With all those influences, Kendrick made a very strong directorial debut with Woman of the Hour that has me intrigued to see what she may tackle next.
Woman of the Hour is now streaming exclusively on Netflix worldwide. Subscription required.
