Based on a true story, Netflix’s Woman of the Hour is both memorable and chilling. Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut is the perfect blend of the crime thriller genre with reality show visuals, and is intriguing and sets the mood right. It’s the 1970s, women’s rights were still a debatable topic, and sexist jokes were the norm. An aspiring actor, Sheryl Bradshaw had moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of establishing her career. But every time she rejected nude shoots or refused to wear revealing clothes, she was made aware that Hollywood did not have a space for her. Sheryl struggled to pay her bills, but her agent boosted her confidence and offered her an opportunity to be on television. Sheryl was selected to join The Dating Game, a reality show where a woman was presented with three potential candidates. The candidates were made to sit behind a screen, and the only way the woman could find out about her potential date was by asking him questions. Sheryl knew that the reality show would not make her career, but she was hopeful that the experience and exposure could help her get some recognition in the industry. But Sheryl did not know she would cross paths with a serial killer on the show.
Spoiler Alert
How did Rodney lure his victims?
Rodney had a way with words, and his interest in photography was a cherry on top. He lured most of his victims by offering to take their portraits. He used to compliment them and convince them to pose for him. In Woman of the Hour, the common trait in most of Rodney’s targets was that they were either lonely or heartbroken. He comforted his victims to gain their trust. After moving to California, he often convinced his targets to drive out to the desert with him to take photographs. Rodney was extremely intelligent; he studied each of his victims thoroughly, and he always targeted their soft spots. His answers were crafted carefully to win their confidence. The film begins with one of Rodney’s victims opening up to him about her breakup. She was pouring her heart out, not realizing that the man she assumed could understand her pain would strangle her within a few minutes and rape and murder her. Rodney was a film student at New York University, and he had an interest in photography and film. He had a fetish for taking photographs of his victims before murdering them. He also toyed with his targets by choking them to the point of death, reviving them, and repeating the process over and over again before ultimately killing them. For Rodney, the photographs were his keepsake; he took pleasure in flipping through the album, possibly because it reminded him of how invincible and attractive he was and how he always got things done his way. It could also be interpreted as a sign of the pleasure he took in possessing people. He had almost convinced himself that he was too smart to get caught. Rodney considered himself an intellectual, and he expected everyone to look at him with admiration. The murders were always meant to be a secret, and he possibly made himself believe the killings were part of his artwork. There were moments when Rodney struggled to look at himself in the mirror, maybe because he felt disoriented. He perhaps thought of himself as an artist and not a killer, and whenever his dark secret was remotely exposed to the world outside, a part of him felt a deep sense of resent and disappointment.
Why did Sheryl choose not to date Rodney?
Sheryl felt uncomfortable when she arrived at the set of The Dating Show. She refused to be merely an object of desire for the male audience. She wanted to establish that she was more than the dumb beauty that the television show host, Ed Burke, wanted her to be. She initially stuck to the script, but when she expressed her discomfort to her makeup artist, Sheryl was advised to do her own thing because it was only a one-time appearance and she had all the freedom to say whatever she desired. Sheryl decided to alter the questions, and the host was not happy about it.
Sheryl avoided questions with a sexual undertone and asked the three bachelors witty questions to gauge them. Bachelor One lacked spontaneity, Bachelor Two was self-obsessed and problematic and Bachelor Three was Rodney, a serial killer, who always managed to come up with the perfect answers on the show. Rodney was so proud of his accomplishments that he did not shy away from showing a portrait of one of his victims to Bachelor No 2. He wanted to scare the contestant away but the incident highlighted his obsession with his trophies. Perhaps the portrait was of real-life Tali Shapiro, though it’s hard to tell. Even though Rodney could not see Sheryl, he could guess the kind of woman she was by her questions, and he knew the answers she would approve of. At the end of the show, Sheryl announced that her pick was Bachelor No. 3. After the show, Rodney waited outside the studio to catch up with Sheryl. They decided to grab a drink, and Sheryl clearly stated that she was not looking for someone to date. He was visibly disappointed. He thought it was unfair that someone who did not want to date ended up at a dating show. Sheryl tried to explain that she did the show for visibility, but he did not seem too convinced. She wanted to return home, and she was a little creeped out when Rodney offered to walk her to her car. It was obvious that she was not interested, yet he refused to let go of her. Rodney asked for her number, and she wrote down a fake one. To cross-check, Rodney asked her to repeat her number from memory, and when she failed to do so, he threatened to kill her. Sheryl hurriedly walked to her car. When she unlocked the door, Rodney stopped her. Thankfully, a few men arrived at the parking lot, and Sheryl escaped. After the incident, Sheryl decided to leave Los Angeles. She had realized that she was not cut out for Hollywood. She refused to lower her standards and say ‘yes’ in the hopes of fame. She chose integrity over limelight.
What led to Rodney’s arrest?
In 1978, Rodney found Amy seated behind a staircase. He thought she was an interesting subject, and he immediately started taking photographs of her. Amy was a little surprised by the stranger’s interest in her. When she asked him his intention, Rodney explained that he was a photographer, and he was mesmerized by Amy’s beauty and wanted to capture her. Amy was flattered. As a homeless teen who was mostly shoo-ed away by people, Rodney’s compliments won her over. It was Valentine’s Day, and when Rodney offered to take her to a spot to click more pictures, she assumed she had finally met her valentine. On their way, Amy went through his collection of portraits, and we found out that a photograph of Mario, the fresher from the Los Angeles Times, had made it to the album, hinting that he had ultimately agreed to Rodney’s offer. Rodney boosted how some of his portraits won prizes in competitions to impress her.
Amy and Rodney had a similar past. Amy chose to run away from her family house, and she ended up on the streets of Los Angeles. She, clearly, did not have a loving relationship with her parents. Her mother was always too busy, she said, and her father was absent. Amy assumed that Rodney’s father had bailed on him too. Something about him told her that he did not have a happy childhood. Rodney admitted that his father had abandoned him, and if they ever crossed paths, Rodney had every intention of killing him. While one could say that being abandoned by his father had in some way resulted in him turning into a serial killer, there is definitely more to that. He was a sociopath because he lacked empathy. Maybe killing someone he found attractive was his way of owning that person and ensuring that they never left, but then again, I don’t have a degree in psychology, and this is just my wild guess.
Rodney felt a little uneasy seeing how Amy was able to read him so well, even though they had just met. After reaching the spot, Rodney took photographs of Amy with the setting sun in the background. And just when Amy was looking at the sky, he attacked her from behind. When Amy regained consciousness, she realized that her hands and feet were tied. She tried to free herself, but she gave up. She figured that the only way she could make it back to the city was by being kind to Rodney. Amy turned to Rodney’s side, who was crying and rambling. Possibly his childhood trauma had surfaced, or maybe at times he hated his dark self yet he had no control over it. When Amy jokingly stated that she would appreciate it if he kept the encounter a secret, Rodney felt at ease. He assumed that Amy had accepted who he was, his good and his bad. He might have thought that he did not have to kill her to own her because she was ready to submit herself anyway.
Rodney helped Amy and freed her. They were on their way to the city when they crossed paths with a truck, and the driver seemed to have noticed Amy’s facial wounds. Rodney stopped at a gas station, assuming that Amy would not leave him after everything they had been through. He left her in the car when he went to the washroom. Amy ran as fast as she could to a nearby eatery. At the end of Woman of the Hour, when Rodney stepped out of the washroom, he was shocked to see Amy missing and he figured it was all over when he heard the police siren in the background. He tried to resist when the policemen tried to handcuff him. He had always believed that his wit and flair would help him get away, but it did not work. Possibly Amy had called the police, or maybe it was the truck driver, but regardless, Rodney was finally arrested, and Amy breathed a sigh of relief.
What’s The True Story Behind The Film?
Rodney Alcala is a real-life serial killer, and he is popularly known as ‘The Dating Show’ killer. In 1978, Alcala made an appearance on ‘The Dating Show’ as a potential candidate for Sheryl Bradshaw. Of course, Anna Kendrick has added a feminist twist to the show to bring to light the rampant sexism that existed during the time. Sheryl originally stuck to the questions provided by the producers of the show, and the video is available on YouTube if you’re interested.
In the film, Kendrick highlights how many women had reported Rodney, but none of their complaints were taken seriously by the police. Through Laura and her experience with the police, the negligence is addressed in Woman of the Hour. Laura was seated in the audience when she noticed Rodney, and she freaked out. Her friend was raped and murdered by him, and even though she had previously lodged a complaint, no action was taken. She tried to warn the show creators about the threat, but they assumed she was simply making up a story. Laura went to the police station again, and as was expected, her complaint was not taken seriously. The fact that Rodney could continue raping and killing women, men, and children was because the authorities did not trust those who attempted to report his crimes. His appearance, his confidence, his background (NYU student), and his profession led the police to believe that he could never be a serial killer. The case not only underlines the gross negligence of the authority but also how women, in general, were mocked and not taken seriously even when they dared to raise their voices. While the world has evolved, there continue to be cases where the offender repeatedly commits crimes even after the authorities are warned about the threat due to a lack of proper action. In 2021, Rodney died in prison. He was 77 years old. The character of Amy is based on Monique Hoyt, who was 15 when she became a victim of Rodney, but she managed to win his trust, and she survived.
Tali Shapiro was 8 when she was lured by Rodney to his apartment. She was a child, and she trusted him when she stated that he was friends with her parents. One of Rodney’s neighbors saw him bring over a little girl, and he contacted the police, but Alcala had fled by then. Shapiro had testified in court, then an adult, against Rodney after his arrest. During one of his trials, Alcala posed as both his attorney and the witness. He changed voices to make the act convincing, and the entire episode was bizarre and hinted at his mental health condition. He was sentenced to death and ultimately life imprisonment for the five murders he had committed between 1977 and 1979. While Alcala was linked to eight murders in total, it is assumed that the number of victims could be around 130 individuals.
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