Introduction:
Woman of the Hour is Anna Kendrick’s directorial feature film released in the psychological thriller genre in 2024. The movie stars Kendrick, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jodie Comer. This film contains much darkness amidst human relations and how far one may go to protect the families of others. Woman of the Hour is a riveting story with lots of fine performances to capture and retain the audience’s interest as it falls under the umbrella of obsession, morality, and consequences of doing things in moments of desperation.
Release Date:
Woman of the Hour premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, on January 22, 2024, and hit theatres on October 18, 2024. This film has been coming with much anticipation since its script is not like other films in the making. Moreover, Kendrick is an actress and also a director.
Crew:
| Role | Name/s |
|---|---|
| Director | Anna Kendrick |
| Producer | Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J. D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules, Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Paul Barbeau |
| Story Writer | Ian McDonald |
| Editor | Andrew Canny |
| Music Director | Dan Romer, Mike Tuccillo |
Cast:
| Actor | Character Name |
|---|---|
| Anna Kendrick | Cheryl Bradshaw |
| Daniel Zovatto | Rodney Alcala |
| Autumn Best | Amy |
| Kathryn Gallagher | Charlie |
| Pete Holmes | Terry |
| Kelley Jakle | Actress |
| Tony Hale | Actor |
| Jedidiah Goodacre | Arnie |
| Geoff Gustafson | Casting Director |
| Dylan Schmid | Mario |
| Nicolette Robinson | Laura |
| Max Lloyd-Jones | Ken |
| Jessie Fraser | Lisa |
| Andy Thompson | Bob |
| Darcy Laurie | Marty |
| Michael Jonsson | Harold |
| Taylor Hastings | Melanie |
| Marc Gaudet | Head Mover |
| Matt Visser | Bachelor #1 |
| Bonnie Hay | Bartender |
| John Gillich | Sunbathing Man |
| Tighe Gill | Bachelor |
Story:
The movie tells the life story of Clara (Anna Kendrick), who is a loving mother who discovers herself entangled in lies and danger when her daughter disappears. Dreading the loss of her daughter, she frantically searches for her child and finds some disturbing truths from the people closest to her, including her husband, played by Daniel Kaluuya, and her intimate friends. The story takes a series of twists and turns that give Clara reality challenges to clash with their darkest fears.
Key Plot Points
- The Disappearance: The movie opens with Clara working on a normal day while her daughter prays for this day to end. But, in a sudden twist, the child disappears. And thus begins Clara’s emotional rollercoaster.
- Relationships Unravel: Meanwhile, Clara’s quest to locate her daughter helps her kindle doubts over those around her. Her marriage, it seems, begins to crumble once those hidden secrets begin to surface.
- The Investigation: Clara takes matters into her own hands, conducting her investigation, which will lead her down a dark path filled with unexpected encounters and moral dilemmas.
- Climactic Revelations: The movie is building up to a thrilling climax where Clara has to come to terms not only with the external threats but with her inner demons as well as she tries to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of her daughter.
- Resolution: Clara would face the consequences of her actions and learn much about trust, love, and resilience in an emphatic conclusion.
The story combines dramatic detail, emotional depth, and psychological tension, as it explores how individuals cope with trauma.
Review:
The Woman of the Hour received positive reviews from critics. Critics praised its strong storyline and strong performances, noting some pacing issues.
Positives:
- Engaging Storyline: This film certainly managed to weave the creation of psychological tension with an emotional storyline, making it appealing to a viewer who would want his thrillers to carry some substance about them.
- The performances: Outstanding in this direction are Anna Kendrick as Clara and Daniel Kaluuya, who add complexity to the relationship that had been created.
- Cinematic Quality: An immersive medium where the direction by Kendrick, along with lavish production values, draws the viewers into Clara’s world.
Negatives:
- Pacing Issues: Some of the films were a bit slow or even dragged because of the extensive time spent on a single scene which decreased the overall appeal.
- Predictive plot items: While some of the elements of the plot are somewhat engaging, they do tend to be familiar and somewhat predictable for most fans of psychological thrillers.
- Character development: There are clear developments of the main characters through dialogue and interpersonal interactions, though some secondary characters are not given the depth to be connected with.
Technical Aspects:
Woman of the Hour runs about 120 minutes, leaving plenty of time for character exploration and plot development.
- Cinematography: David Lanzenberg’s cinematography captures just as well the beauty of life in a suburb and the intensity of emotional moments. Shadows and lighting amplify scenes of tension while transporting viewers into an absorbing atmosphere.
- Direction: Anna Kendrick’s direction is their ability to flow between psychological tension and emotional storytelling. They can easily create this sense of atmosphere that audiences can connect with Clara’s journey very deeply but at the same time keep the suspense going throughout.
- Editing: The rest of the movie, considering its editing style, is quite dull and steady. However, it falters at places during pivotal transitional scenes. There are points where tighter cuts can enhance narration fluidity.
Performance:
- Anna Kendrick as Clara: Anna Kendrick is excellent as Clara. She gets through Clara’s fragility along with resolve when she battles her conflicting emotions about motherhood and loss. The deep emotional pain expressed by Kendrick only complements the entire journey of Clara while inside the film.
- Daniel Kaluuya as Clara’s Husband: Daniel Kaluuya is good for his role as Clara’s husband, bringing a lot of charm and complexity into the character. He can show the tension within their relationship through unwinding secrets.
- Supporting Cast: The supporting cast does enough to elevate the impact of the movie, even if some characters are inadequate in development. This creates unease in viewers.
- Jodie Comer as a close friend: Jodie Comer does well as one of Clara’s closest friends. Her problems and interactions with the characters do contribute richness to the plot.
Moviepoptime Review:
Woman of the Hour follows the story of serial killer Rodney Alcala along with his appearance he made on the game show, The Dating Game. If you’re like me, I didn’t know anything about this story at all going into the film, so it was a really interesting watch. This is a good not great movie, but Anna Kendrick did a great job in her directorial debut.
I loved what she did with this film but was just missing something. If aside from a few scenes, it lacked the suspense that would have made this great thriller. Despite that, this is a solid movie which I would recommend giving a watch once, and hope to see a lot more of Anna Kendrick directing in the future!
Conclusion:
Woman of the Hour is a particularly strong piece on obsession and resilience when viewed through the lens of a psychological thriller. Emotionally layered, the strong performances and multi-dimensional storyline breathe depth into issues around motherhood, keeping the viewer riveted as it ends.
It has pacing problems and predictable moments, like in most psychological thrillers, but it excels at times when real inner conflicts are mixed with broader social issues. Entertainment, but a mirror of contemporary problems met in the search for truth while chaos unfolds, this movie.
Altogether, Woman of the Hour is a must-watch for fans of psychological dramas who are keen to watch a character-driven storyline that takes one inside to reflect on the theme of love and loss. Releasing it out there into theaters allows the ready audiences who could use thoughtful, reflective content about complex relationships. Through Clara’s fight and discovery, the audience will be prompted to think about themes far beyond trust, making this film, on one hand, a mystery but, on the other hand, it’s the story of what it means to face the matters of life in today’s complex world.
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