Woman of the Hour director and star Anna Kendrick explains ending homage
"It's meant to evoke dissonance at the very least."
Woman of the Hour has soared to the top of Netflix's top 10, as it tells the shocking true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala and how - in the middle of a murder spree - he appeared on national television.
Throughout the film, Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto) meets and preys on women before killing them, but there is one change in his crimes at the end of the film.
A teen runaway Amy (Autumn Best) manages to escape Alcala by asking to keep what happened between them a secret, before she turns him into the police. But while viewers might think justice will finally be served, that couldn't be further from the truth.
At the end credits, it is revealed that in real life, Alcala was released on bail and went on to murder two women and only then was he arrested again and the police uncovered his crimes.
In the final moments of the film, there is a gasp from Amy as she watches Alcala's arrest, something that was done purposefully by the movie's director and star Anna Kendrick.
"As incongruous as it is, that's Sondheim," Kendrick told Tudum of the final breath. "That's the chord resolving at the end of Into the Woods, and then one last 'I wish' ringing out.
"Because there isn't a perfect resolution: That character has survived, but it's not as simply as, 'She's going to be fine now.' It's meant to evoke dissonance at the very least."
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And Kendrick is right, because there was no perfect resolution by the end of the film.
At the end of the movie, Netflix explains: "For over a decade, Alcala had been reported to law enforcement by survivors and other private citizens without consequence.
"He was eventually convicted of the murders of seven women and girls. After 31 years in prison, Alcala had a final chance for acquittal. The runaway, now a grown woman, appeared in court to testify against him.
"According to the prosecutor, 'She showed up and put the nail in Rodney's coffin.'"
In 2010, Alcala was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe and four other women.
Two years later, Alcala was extradited to New York after facing charges for the murder of two women, where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years to life.
He died from natural causes while on death row in July 2021.
Woman of the Hour is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
