Film Review: After the Hunt

After the Hunt

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Imagine Entertainment, Frenesy Film Company, Big Indie Pictures
In Theaters: 10.17.2025

When a director has a banner year taking them to a new level as a filmmaker, the follow up is always daunting. And 2024 was a huge year for Luca Guadagnino. Challengers, a critical favorite, established him as a viable mainstream filmmaker. He then followed it with the psychedelic and daring Queer, cementing his place as one of the most relevant and hyped filmmakers of our time. After the Hunt will not stop his forward momentum entirely. However, it is fair to say it won’t do much to push him further.

After the Hunt: A Story of Academia and Scandal

Oscar-winner Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) stars as Alma Imhoff. She’s a brilliant Yale philosophy professor whose marriage is barely even there anymore. The only two things that she and her nebbish husband Frederik (Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man, Call Me by Your Name) have in common are alcohol and fawning love of Alma. Frederik gives his wife her space so that she can pursue her career while he pursues his next drink. Alma’s professional life seems to be a big success.

The carefully controlled world in which Alma thrives begins to unravel when her protégé, Maggie Resnick (Ayo Edebiri, The Bear, Opus), accuses her trusted colleague and friend Hank Gibson (Andrew Garfield, The Amazing Spider-Man, Tick, Tick… Boom!) of sexual assault. As the scandal spreads across campus, Alma must choose between loyalty and conscience. She also has to navigate her role as a mentor, confront her complicated relationship with Hank, and protect herself. Meanwhile, whispers of a buried secret from her past start to surface. Alma must then decide how far she is willing to go to safeguard her career.

Script Lost in Its Own Self-Importance

The screenplay by first timer Nora Garrett is the easiest culprit to blame for this misfire. The film overflows with pompous, self-indulgent dialogue, as intended. It tries to be witty, thought-provoking, and layered. Most of the time, however, it feels like a listless rant. Too often, it turns into unhinged attacks on Gen Z. While there is enough hand-wringing and half-hearted introspection to avoid a fully one-sided take on cancel culture, the film still shows clear contempt for today’s young people. Nothing in it adds anything new or insightful to the discussion.

However, the script doesn’t deserve all the blame. The writer and director don’t quite seem sure that they are making the same movie. Guadagnino over indulges himself and over stylizes. He used headache inducing background sound effects (the most prominent being a pervasive ticking clock) to permeate and punctuate the proceedings, working against the text instead of trying to build upon it. And then there’s the ghastly, seemingly experimental career worst score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It is even more ear splitting and is often at war with the dialogue.

Strong Cast, Weak Material

While the acting is the film’s biggest saving grace, it does not save the movie. Roberts is one of the greats of her generation. She is a larger-than-life movie star and highly accomplished actress. Yet, as much as she tries to elevate the proceedings with her presence and gravity, she often seems to struggle to find the character. This may be because so much of the material was already explored by Cate Blanchett in Todd Field’s marvelous 2022 film Tár.

Roberts shines most when playing electrifying characters. Yet none of the characters in this film are likable or sympathetic. Garfield throws himself into a self-pitying, smug straight white male persona with gusto. This stands out because he plays the most clearly defined character. He is simply a charming, slimy, self-obsessed creep, nothing more and nothing less.

Roberts and Edebri have to dig to find layers of motivation and subtext in these poorly written characters. The best they can do is rely on each other as scene partners. Stuhlbarg has a few strong scenes, as does Chloë Sevigny who plays a therapist and student liaison. One memorable scene between Roberts and Sevigny in a bar even offers a brief glimpse of the film’s higher aspirations.

After the Hunt: A Disappointing Misfire

It’s tempting to go on shredding this bloated and deeply condescending tripe for far longer. Garrett and Guadagnino have already wasted enough people’s time on After the Hunt. I simply don’t feel like wasting more of yours. I had to see this film because that’s what I do. But there’s no reason why you have to see it.

If you’re a fan of Guadagnino, the best way to support him is to let this movie fade into obscurity. Everyone involved and the audience has better things to do, which is why it ranks among the year’s worst major releases.—Patrick Gibbs 

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