“After the Hunt” is the newest film from “Call Me by Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino. Starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri, the film is a thriller that follows an accusation that leads to utter chaos on an ivy league campus.
Alma Imhoff (Roberts) is a driven Yale professor whose world begins to fall apart when a student named Maggie (Edebiri) accuses Alma’s colleague Hank Gibson (Garfield) of sexual assault. The situation gets increasingly complicated for everyone involved, as moral principles are mixed with personal ambition and the truth becomes harder and harder to discern.
Julia Roberts speaks to the complex relationship between Alma and Maggie. “It’s not so much generational,” she says, “as an individual experience.” She emphasizes that, even though Alma becomes a maternal figure to Maggie, Alma is very “performative” and not always genuine with her students. This dynamic only causes further conflict when Maggie brings up her accusations against Hank. Even though Alma wants to help Maggie, she realizes becoming involved with this conflict could damage her chances at getting the tenure she has sought for so long.
Ayo Edebiri adds that there is bound to be complexity when one has a relationship with “another human being who might have a different identity marker than you.” Her character also experiences what it is like to be “let down” when a personal hero fails to meet impossibly high standards.
Andrew Garfield praises Luca Guadagnino for his ability to find strengths that an actor might not be aware they had. “He likes to see actors expand their own range and repertoire,” he says, responding to The Carroll News. Considering his role in “After the Hunt” is a drastic shift from his usual role as the likeable leading man, he acknowledges the experience as being “quite scary” but ultimately rewarding.
“After the Hunt” takes a harsh look at some of the most uncomfortable topics of the modern day. When Alma hears such a serious accusation leveled against someone she has always been close with, there are no easy solutions. The film is available in theaters now.
