§ RESOURCES / FILM INDEX

Woman of the Hour (2024)

Featured In

DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling

How does Film Noir show us terrible people doing terrible things without endorsing it?

AI✦Examines how the film walks a line between classical and neo-noir depictions of brutality--showing the audience exactly how horrible the violence is while maintaining the killer’s superficial charm that makes women feel safe around him.✦

⏱ 1h 10m

30 JAN 2026

Character · Theme · Structure

Listen if you need audiences to root for characters who do terrible things

▶ More Info

Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular:… →

Films: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) , Woman of the Hour (2024)

Character: Character Motivation , Moral Ambiguity , Character Arcs , Antiheroes , Character Agency , Unreliable Narrator , Character Flaw , Audience Complicity , Character Wound

Theme: Worldview , Representation and Endorsement

Structure: Dramatic Questions

"He is someone who you do not expect-- in a stereotypical or judgmental way-- to be someone who needs to brutalize people. He does not seem to be that way. He makes women feel safe."

— chas | DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling

Also on Shot Zero

↗ Week 99: Socials Roundup 2024-12-03