TIFF Report #2 — ‘Woman of the Hour,’ Anna Kendrick’s Stellar Directing Debut

Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, “Woman of the Hour,” is such a gutsy balancing act of black comedy and hardcore thriller elements that it threatens to derail at every minute, the fact that it doesn’t is some kind of minor miracle.

Yes, it turns out that Kendrick is a good filmmaker, a wildly adventurous one, unafraid of rattling our nerves and making us chuckle in equal measure. She’s aided in building her atmosphere of dread by “Barbarian” cinematographer Zach Kuperstein. The frames are meticulously shot and chilling.

“Woman of the Hour” tackles kitschy ’70s pop culture, and a female’s place in it, through the lens of the serial killer genre. The plot itself is based on a true story. In 1978, serial killer Rodney Alcala was a contestant on “The Dating Game,” a show in which three bachelors are asked mundane questions by a bachelorette.

Alcala was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for hundreds of rapes and murders. He actually won the show, chosen by Cheryl (Anna Kendrick) as her man of the hour. The prize was a vacation in Southern California.

Kendrick‘s Cheryl is a failed actress, rejected in audition after audition, but just as she’s about to quit the acting game, her agent books her on “The Dating Game,” telling her she could benefit from the exposure.

Meanwhile, the film uses flashbacks to portray Alcala’s murderous spree. Posing as photographer on the streets of Los Angeles, and constantly preying on women. He’s played, with chilling effect, by Daniel Zovatto in a performance that will surely be talked about once the film gets released.

The film constantly goes back and forth, between Cheryl’s journey and Alcala’s murders. The story being told is outrageous, if it weren’t also based in fact. It all amounts to a winning filmmaking debut from Kendrick. Who’d a thunk it? She’s great behind the camera.