Woman of the Hour (15)
Directed by Anna Kendrick
★★★★ 
 

THIS chilling crime drama is based on the stranger-than-fiction true story of an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles who appeared on a popular American TV dating show alongside a prolific serial killer. 
 
It is an impressive directorial debut feature by Anna Kendrick who also produced it and stars in it. She delivers a taut and gripping thriller which uses this unbelievable but real tale to highlight and examine systematic misogyny and violence against women. 
 
Kendrick plays wannabe actor Sheryl Bradshaw whose agent persuades her to appear on the blind date show The Dating Game. She must choose one of three mystery men. However, bachelor number three is the uber charming Rodney Alcala (a hair-raising Daniel Zovatto) who became known as the Dating Game Killer and who sets his sights on Sheryl. 
 
It is told in a non-linear time structure, which I am not usually a fan of, but in this instance it increases the mounting tension as the action moves back and forth from the show to Alcala’s killing sprees. Unlike Sheryl, you know exactly what he has in store for her. 
 
When a female audience member raises the alarm, after she recognises him as her best friend’s killer, the police don’t take her seriously. The film states that for over a decade Alcala had been reported to law enforcement by survivors and private citizens without consequence. It is believed he may have killed up to 130 victims including young girls. 
 
It is a fascinating, yet truly horrific tale skilfully helmed by Kendrick who shows she has a promising career behind the camera too.  

Out on Netflix October 18

The Crime is Mine (15)
Directed by Francois Ozon
★★★★ 

 
 
THIS whimsical French farce set in the 1930s about a penniless and talentless actress who takes on the patriarchy when she is falsely accused of murder is a joyous and visual delight. 
 
Based on the 1934 hit play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, it is the final instalment in writer director François Ozon’s trilogy which includes 8 Women and Potiche. They all explore the status of women and the power play in gender politics. 
 
Struggling actress Madeleine (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) gives the performance of her career in court defended by her best friend and roommate Pauline (Rebecca Marder), a jobless lawyer, who claims her client acted in self-defence. Madeleine becomes the poster girl for defending women’s rights and lack of status in a patriarchal society where they cannot even vote. 
 
Fame, success and wealth ensues after she is acquitted but the arrival of Odette Chaumette (Isabelle Huppert), the famous silent movie star, is about to scupper everything by revealing the truth. 
 
With stunning performances from Tereszkiewicz and Marder and a flamboyant turn by Huppert this slick and stylish feminist screwball comedy is wonderfully entertaining yet deliciously absurd and uplifting. 

In cinemas October 18

 
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things (PG)
Directed by Mark Cousins
★★★ 

 
 
DOCUMENTARY filmmaker Mark Cousins pays homage to the life and work of Scottish 20th-century painter and artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham in this haunting portrait. 
 
Born with synaesthesia, associating letters, names and people with particular colours, Barns-Graham (or Willie) saw the world and her surroundings in a unique way. Moving from St Andrews to St Ives in a bid to escape her family (exactly why isn’t explained) she was a member of the St Ives circle of modernist artists active in the post-war era. 
 
In 1949 Willie scaled a Swiss glacier where she had an aesthetic and spiritual epiphany which transformed her work. Cousins re-enacts this climb attempting to put the viewer in her mindset. 
 
Tilda Swinton, a long-time fan, voices Willie’s inner thoughts outlined in her private notebooks. 
 
This hypnotic documentary also explores gender, neurodiversity and climate change. 
 
But Cousins’s overall aim is to give Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and her art the recognition that they deserve and failed to obtain during her lifetime.  

In cinemas October 18

The Wild Robot (U)
Directed by Chris Sanders
★★★★

 
 
FROM the co-writer and director of How to Train Your Dragon comes a tender yet funny tale about survival, self-discovery, technology versus nature and the intricacies of parenthood in a film which will make you laugh and cry. 
 
Written and directed by Chris Sanders it is based on Peter Brown’s award-winning novel about a robot (Lupita Nyong’o) named ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short, who is marooned on a desert island where she has to make peace with the unwelcoming local wildlife and finds herself becoming the adopted mother to an orphaned gosling whose family she accidentally killed. 
 
Featuring gorgeous animation and a stellar voice cast, which also includes Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy and Mark Hamill, this is a sweet and beautiful film about complex themes. Just like WALL-E, Roz is guaranteed to steal your heart.  

In cinemas October 18