Woman of the Hour Review – Anna Kendrick's '70s-set true crime thriller is a winner

LLast year's Toronto Film Festival was notable for several reasons: the US actors' strike robbed the red carpet; Another was a crop of well-known actor-turned-director making feature films. The quality was highly variable – don't expect to see Chris Pine's first feature, polar peoplereleased anytime soon – but Anna Kendrick's '70s California-set true-crime thriller, Doomsday womanwas a standout.

Kendrick also stars in the film, as Cheryl, an out-of-work actor persuaded by her agent to appear on a popular TV show, The Dating Game. A fellow contestant on the show – whom she chooses as her date – is Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), a dashing charmer who, as the film's deftly nonlinear structure reveals, happens to be a serial rapist and murderer.

Kendrick's knack for capturing period detail goes beyond psychedelic synthetics and kipper bonds. He taps into the treacherous sexuality that was so heavily inculcated in the entertainment industry and the larger culture of the time, both depicted as a minefield of fragile male pride and potential violence.