Luca Guadagnino has always rolled around in the mess of life, amongst the egomaniacs, the adulterers, and the cannibals, from Call Me by Your Name (2017) to Challengers (2024). I can see the appeal of After the Hunt’s script, then, provided by debut screenwriter Nora Garrett, which places Yale philosophy professor Alma (Julia Roberts) at the centre of a sexual assault accusation. She’s a mentor to the victim Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), a friend to the aggressor Hank (Andrew Garfield). A lifetime dedicated to refining the ethical rules of our existence immediately falls apart in the face of slippery, human emotion.
There are certainly moments in After the Hunt that bristle with true Guadagnino provocation: he opens the piece with the sly roll of jazz and titles written in Windsor Light Condensed, both trademarks of Woody Allen, a figure whose work has been cyclically evaluated and reevaluated under the revealing light of the #MeToo movement. As Yale’s dean openly confesses, “I’ve found myself in the business of optics, not substance”, and the film is at its best when it explores the dissonance between people wanting to do what is right, what is best for themselves, and what appears “correct” to the outside world. There’s a sickly air that descends when Maggie is excitedly contacted by a journalist with the news, “we might get picked up by The Times!” Who really benefits there?
