Anna Kendrick's Directorial Debut: A Killer true crime Story!
Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour: How the Director and Star Found That Perfect Harmony!
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, hits Netflix October 18th. This biographical thriller is based on the seriously creepy true story of the "Dating Game Killer," Rodney Alcala; it's wild. Instead of focusing on Alcala though; the film brilliantly centers on Cheryl Bradshaw; a woman who unknowingly dates the infamous killer. Kendrick stars and also directs the whole thing, this became a major achievement – and makes the whole thing all the more fascinating! Our interview with Kendrick and her co-star, Daniel Zovatto, revealed some interesting insights; explaining exactly how they approached this very unusual project and exactly why Kendrick might've chosen to act and direct the whole thing at once.
Zovatto (from Station Eleven) received serious praise for his portrayal of Alcala, the movie nails that uneasy balance between Alcala’s charm and terrifying evil. It’s impressive; but the film does something very creative: The film isn’t merely just that "true crime" telling–it’s more focused on creating a particular, strong emotional reaction through the storytelling in conjunction with showcasing Cheryl Bradshaw's struggles against a failing society that failed to protect women. It cleverly uses that ridiculous dating show premise for those amazing comedic moments.
Kendrick on Directing Herself: A Surprisingly Easy Choice!
We asked Kendrick about the challenges of acting in and directing her first film, and this is what she told us:
“Oh, gosh. That's an overwhelming question. But I think, if anything, I knew that I wasn't actually seeing the idea of directing and acting as a deficit. It sounds like I'm being silly when I say this, but I'm not. The fact that the lead actress and the director are going to be on the same page every day is so great. It is truly just one less thing I have to think about.”
Zovatto agreed. The experience went better because of how it was structured:
“It's somebody who understands the process of what you're doing during the scenes — some things you want to talk about, some things you don't want to talk about. Sometimes you need some space to yourself. Anna, she's not just a great leader, but she's also a great coworker to have. She was always just making me feel like I could trust myself, I could trust my instincts so I could follow through with what I believed was Rodney and just encourage me.”
Emotional Truth Over Historical Accuracy: The Film’s Approach
Both Kendrick and Zovatto used the Dating Game footage, court documents, etc.; all the things you'd expect. However; it wasn’t always completely historically accurate; and what matters isn’t that— rather the overall impact it delivers: Those key, significant points, rather than trying to precisely recreate the scenes:
“I could have made the dress that Cheryl [Bradshaw] wore more like the actual dress she wore, but it was almost like a nod to the fact that we're trying to tell an emotionally resonant story. We're not going to get bogged down in certain minutiae because it's going to get in the way. The idea for me was really, after really diving into all that research, 'What is the feeling that I'm left with?' I felt heartbroken and enraged at over a decade of injustices and law enforcement negligence.”
Zovatto's research focused on photographs. He felt these showed Alcala's ability to lure victims:
"…these photographs really allowed me to realize this man is a person who is able to lure people in. He has charisma, he's smart, but he also has the capacity of making that other person feel comfortable enough to photograph them and capture the essence of the person. And there are so many beautiful photographs that he took — and unfortunately, they are beautiful. But it gave me an idea of, 'Oh, this is Rodney. I can play with this.'"
Conclusion: A Powerful and Thought-Provoking Film
Woman of the Hour is shaping up to be extremely powerful. Kendrick and Zovatto's approaches to portraying their characters clearly showcases how this combination of a director who can act and an actor aware of those implications around portraying this criminal really demonstrates a key creative approach and decision that many might agree with: emotional resonance is more crucial than just factual accuracy when delivering a highly sensitive story like this. Their choice was thoughtful and intelligent!
Go check out Woman of the Hour on Netflix! You might not forget this film. It's a chilling yet very thought-provoking reminder regarding past injustices.
