Story of movie The Most Hated Woman In America : The Most Hated Woman in America is an American biographical drama film directed by Tommy O'Haver and written by O'Haver and Irene Turner. It stars Melissa Leo as Madalyn Murray O'Hair.
| The Most Hated Woman in America | |
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| Directed by | Tommy O'Haver |
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| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | Alan Ari Lazar |
| Cinematography | Armando Salas |
| Edited by | Michael X. Flores |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2017. The film was released on March 24, 2017, by Netflix.
Screenplay
The story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist activist whose efforts led to a Supreme Court ruling banning official Bible readings in public schools during the 1960s, and her kidnapping and murder in 1995.
- Melissa Leo as Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist activist.
- Josh Lucas as David Waters, American Atheists' former manager who masterminds their kidnapping.
- Michael Chernus as Jon Garth Murray, Madalyn's loyal younger son.
- Devin Freeman as teenage Jon Garth Murray, Madalyn’s son.
- Rory Cochrane as Gary Karr, the Murray O'Hairs' kidnapper and murderer.
- Vincent Kartheiser as William J. "Billy Boy" Murray, Madalyn's elder son who converts to Christianity.
- Sally Kirkland as Lena Christina, Madalyn's long-suffering mother.
- Adam Scott as Jack Ferguson, the reporter who first looks into the kidnapping.
- Juno Temple as Robin Murray O'Hair, Madalyn's devoted granddaughter and Bill's estranged daughter.
- Alex Frost as Danny Fry, the Murray O'Hairs' kidnapper who also gets killed by Waters and Karr.
- Brandon Mychal Smith as Roy Collier, Madalyn's right-hand man at American Atheists who first exposes the kidnapping.
- Peter Fonda as Reverend Bob Harrington, the Christian pastor who did public debates with Madalyn for money.
- Ryan Cutrona as John Mays, Madalyn's father with whom she had a strained relationship.
- Anna Camp as Mrs. Lutz, the school teacher of young William Murray who enforces prayers in class.
On July 8, 2015, it was reported that Netflix would finance and release The Most Hated Woman in America, a film dramatizing the life of Madalyn Murray O'Hair. It would be directed by Tommy O'Haver from his own script and star Melissa Leo as O'Hair. In March 2016, Peter Fonda, Sally Kirkland, Rory Cochrane, Josh Lucas, Adam Scott, Juno Temple, Vincent Kartheiser, Anna Camp, Michael Chernus, and Alex Frost joined the cast.
On March 24, 2016, it was reported that The Most Hated Woman in America had begun filming in the previous week.
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2017. It was released on March 24, 2017, by Netflix.
Critical reception
The Most Hated Woman in America received mixed reviews from film critics. It holds a 44% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.6/10. On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 41 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a negative review, writing: "Seems to fall right where you'd expect: slightly better than your average TV movie, while not as good as your typical theatrical release."
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