Directorial debut from Anna Kendrick—and damn, I’m genuinely happy for her, like for a close friend. Always thought she had the chops, and here she goes proving it again.

Late 1970s. A struggling actress barely making ends meet in L.A. gets offered the lead on a dating show. She’s repulsed by the idea of joining such cheesy bullshit, but her agent talks her into it—she needs the cash, and it’s a chance to be seen. On the show, her character picks a date from three men… only one of them is a real weirdo.

That’s just the setup, though. The film goes further—but better to go in blind to avoid spoilers. I’ll say this: it’s more than you’d expect, but it doesn’t try to overreach. Anna nailed the tone—Woman of the Hour is a tightly wound, well-acted thriller with something to say.

At times, it was a little understimulating for me—cue the ADHD leg shake and gaze drift. It doesn’t grab your throat and squeeze, but it does grab you by the collar and shake just enough. That’s really the only knock I’ve got. Honestly, most debuts should be this solid.

Okay, fine—you could nitpick the villain’s arc (or lack thereof). It doesn’t hold up to deep critique, but I’m not here to dunk on a newcomer. Support goes further than snark. Watch the damn movie.