The Most Hated Woman in America

The Most Hated Woman in America centers on Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the activist whose challenge to prayer and Bible reading in public schools led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling. Building on that victory, she founded American Atheists and campaigned for the separation of church and state, a stance that earned her both prominence and widespread hostility in a largely religious country. The film follows her public battles alongside her private life, and it turns on her 1995 disappearance together with her son Jon and granddaughter Robin, and the investigation that followed.

Tommy O'Haver directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Irene Turner. The film is his fourth feature, arriving after Get Over It, Ella Enchanted and An American Crime. Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman and Laura Rister produced through Brownstone Productions. Melissa Leo plays O'Hair, with Josh Lucas as David Waters, Michael Chernus as Jon Garth Murray, Rory Cochrane as Gary Karr, Vincent Kartheiser as William J. Murray III and Adam Scott as Jack Ferguson; the credited cast runs to 26 names. It runs 91 minutes.

Released in 2017, the film drew modest responses. On IMDb it holds 6.1/10 from about 7,800 votes, and on TMDB 6.2/10 from roughly 230 votes, indicating a small but comparable viewer reception on both. A critics' rating of 4.7/10 from 20 reviews places professional assessment noticeably below those audience scores.