Anna Kendrick donated her WOMAN OF THE HOUR earnings to RAINN, National Center for Victims of Crime

[varioussaints]

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Anna Kendrick recently guested on the Crime Junkie podcast to discuss (amongst other things) her decision to become a director, her relationship with true crime, and the ethics surrounding the production and consumption of true crime media. One of the biggest takeaways from the interview is that Anna Kendrick donated all of the money she earned

Comments

[angriest_girl]

I think this is a good thing for her to do, but also it’s kind of weird that she has made a “true crime” movie that is (apparently, I haven’t seen it yet) more about her own experiences and feelings than the crime itself. I wonder what the thinking was there. It might have been better to make a film that was not really connected to that particular crime but had similar themes.

True crime as a genre of entertainment makes me deeply uncomfortable - I hate 99% of true crime docos and podcasts and find them cheap exploitation. I hate that things like My Favorite Murder exist. Those are real people, with real loved ones still out there seeing their family members/friends being used as entertainment.

I don’t know, I have a lot of feelings and opinions about this topic but I can never articulate them without sounding like I’m just an old fart who doesn’t get it. Which I am.

[dreamdate]

I’m not sure if Anna has gone on record saying she took from her own experience more so the experiences of many women who have found themselves in dangerous situations with men. I’ve seen the film, and I think it was decent and especially decent for a directorial debut. I don’t need to see another film depicting violence against women, nor do I need for the film to be exactly as how it was in real life. I think it’s a nitpicking to expect otherwise bc the film truly wasn’t about this serial killer man but ultimately about how dangerous it is to be a woman in this world.

[angriest_girl]

I guess I’m referring to her talking about her personal experiences in her promo of the film - she does seem to be linking it herself.

I’m intending to see it as it does look interesting. It’s one of those movies I have to be in the right mindset for, though.

[dreamdate]

Please don’t see my comment below and take it like I’m being passive aggressive at you considering what you’ve said in this comment bc I was commenting on others like it! That being said, Anna is a survivor of DV. And I think what she’s endured and survived just assisted in the filmmaking of this and the lens in which she wanted to tell the story. If that makes any sense.

[angriest_girl]

It’s all good.

[deja_vu822]

i definitely may be missing context about what anna has said about this movie but i don't feel like it's a 1:1 comparison to her own experience, especially because she didn't write the movie. if anything, i think that she likely related to the themes in it about women's instincts about danger being ignored or manipulated, and seemingly safe men not being safe, but it isn't directly about the kind of abusive relationship she went through.

[angriest_girl]

Oh I know, I think I didn’t express myself properly. It seems like many women who have their own experiences of this sort of thing (which is almost all of them, I’d bet) kind of relate their own experiences to those of women generally. That’s what I meant really - like the film seems to be more about women’s general experiences of violent, frightening men, and Anna has had that experience as well so it’s all related. I would imagine she would have had some input in the story even if she didn’t write it. She’s directing, producing (I think?) and starring.

But again, I haven’t seen it yet so I might be way off the mark - I’m just going off what she’s been saying in promos and what people have been saying about the film. It just seems odd to me that the topic seems to be more about the general fear women have of men and why they are right to be fearful, but it’s been linked directly to a specific true crime and then that has been embellished with things that didn’t happen in that instance (but certainly have happened generally).

[deja_vu822]

that makes sense but imo, any fictional retelling of a true story is probably going to try to use the basis of what happened to make a larger point, otherwise they'd just make a non-fiction docuseries about it. but i do understand the ethical grey area when it comes to depicting true stories and real victims. this movie wasn't my favorite for other reasons but i thought that it was sensitive and kind in the way that it portrayed the women, making them full people and not just victims, even if the details weren't 100% accurate (which I never expect them to be in a movie like this). I didn't feel like any of the liberties taken were to the detriment of the real women.

but again, i do understand a general uneasiness about depicting true crime!