Many actors try to pick projects that would get them critical recognition and lead to awards and other accolades, yet there are few guarantees in the film industry that a film will be a hit with both critics and the audience. Anna Kendrick, who is just fresh off her first directed movie, has managed quite an impressive streak with the critics.

Anna Kendrick’s first role was in the 1998 Broadway musical High Society, which also led to her first big nomination: a Tony Award nod for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She didn’t win and went on to make her feature debut in 2003’s musical comedy Camp, and a supporting role in the Twilight Saga. Although her acting credits include over 50 titles, both live-action and voiceover roles, she has achieved an amazing Rotten Tomatoes streak that has lasted over the last four years, and her new movie, Woman of the Hour, only comes to improve her score.

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The true crime thriller Woman of the Hour is Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut and it couldn’t have gone better. The movie held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, which the actress and the rest of the cast couldn’t attend due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. However, it got encouraging reviews, and Netflix purchased the rights, and the film was released on the platform on Oct. 18, 2024.

The movie holds a Certified Fresh rating of 92% from the critics, a feat that shouldn’t be dismissed, considering it was her directorial debut. From the audience, the film currently has 75%, which might fluctuate as more people watch the movie. Plus, its latest score comes to add to her amazing Rotten Tomatoes streak.

Since the 2019 Christmas fantasy comedy Noelle, which scored an unfortunate, yet not unexpected “rotten” score of only 55% from the critics and 58% from the audience, Kendrick has only starred in films with a “fresh” rating. In 2020, she reprised her role as Poppy in Trolls World Tour, which holds a score of 72% from the critics. Her next few films continued the same trend, including 2021’s Stowaway, 2022’s Alice Darling, 2023’s Trolls Band Together and Self Reliance, and now, Woman of the Hour.

It’s worth noting that not all films convinced both critics and the audience. Although her last six films gave her a four-year impressive streak with the critics, the audience agreed only on two of them, 2023’s Trolls Band Together and her new, self-directed film. All the others, unfortunately, hold a spilled popcorn rating.

What Is Woman of the Hour About?

Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut followed the story of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who appeared on The Dating Game in 1978 and won a date with Cheryl Bradshaw, the character Kendrick plays. She refused to go out with him alone because she found him creepy.

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While Kendrick was originally supposed to star in the movie and produce, she wasn’t always meant to direct. But the development took a long time, and when they had a start date, there was no director. She detailed the decision to hop in the director’s chair: “We spent maybe 48 hours trying to find somebody to jump on board quickly. And we were certainly not looking at first-time directors. The idea would be to find someone experienced enough to get $2 and a roll of duct tape and make a movie.” Luckily, she stepped in and continued the applaudable Rotten Tomatoes streak she’s been on lately, with a successful directorial debut.

Woman of the Hour is streaming on Netflix.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Woman of the Hour

Director

Anna Kendrick

Release Date

September 26, 2023

Cast

Anna Kendrick , Daniel Zovatto , Autumn Best , Andy Thompson , David Beairsto , Tighe Gill , Bonnie Hay , Thomas Strumpski , Nicolette Robinson , Kathryn Gallagher , Kelley Jakle , Tony Hale

Runtime

94 Minutes

Main Genre

Crime