How ‘Woman of the Hour’ Decided Which Rodney Alcala Murders to Depict on Screen and the Level of Violence They Should Show
variety.comWilliam Earl administrator SPOILER ALERT: This story contains mild spoilers for “Woman of the Hour,” now streaming on Netflix. “Woman of the Hour” screenwriter Ian McDonald faced a unique challenge with his sophomore feature: Tell a true crime story that felt “necessary and useful.” Luckily, the stranger-than-fiction story of Rodney Alcala, who won “The Dating Game” during a 1978 appearance amid a serial killing spree, was ripe for examination. “There’s a lot out there where a serial killer attacks a bunch of women, and there’s absolutely no reason to tell it,” McDonald says. “There was something about this that felt like it could be socially and culturally relevant now.
You’ll sometimes hear people say, ‘Rodney’s kind of like Ted Bundy,’ by which I think they mean he’s handsome and well-educated.
But he was actually very different: He was a chameleon. He was good at pretending he was something he wasn’t. That’s exactly what I found interesting, because it was the culture that routinely looked the other way, and that enabled him.” Directed by Anna Kendrick, who also stars as Cheryl, an actress who picks Alcala to win the game show, the film debuted to acclaim at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and premiered on Netflix on Oct.
18. Days later, it’s sitting at the top of the streaming service’s most-watched film list, which could be a testament to a compelling tale mixed with unconventional storytelling.
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