Running Time: 139 minutes
This feature from Amazon MGM Studios opens nationwide in theaters on October 17th.
For years now, Italian Luca Guadagnino has been making unique pictures that deal with difficult and polarizing subject matter. The characters tend to possess shades of gray, rather than existing as simply good or bad. For me, some of his titles have worked better than others, but the filmmaker always offers something interesting that is always worthy of discussion and thought. His latest is After the Hunt, which has both impressed and enraged many reviewers in this part of the world (the intense reaction is one that, in a strange way, I think he should take as a compliment).
Alma Imhoff (Julia Roberts) is a Yale philosophy professor up for tenure, competing with friend and fellow prof Henrik ‘Hank” Gibson (Andrew Garfield). As witnessed at an early party scene, the latter enjoys provoking and testing others and provoking them about their beliefs. This includes Alma’s favorite grad student, Margaret Resnick (Ayo Edebiri), who is the daughter of one of the university’s biggest benefactors. The next day, Margaret confides in Alma that she was assaulted by Hank after the previous night’s events. The professor is stunned, unsure of how to proceed, especially given that she has known the accused for many years. When Alma hesitates to support her, Margaret exerts pressure on her teacher. Stress and emotions ultimately run high for Alma as past secrets come to light. This also causes strain on relationships with her husband Frederik (Micheal Stuhlbarg) and coworker Dr. Kim Sayers (Chloe Sevigny).
The film has been sold to some degree as a thriller, but I wouldn’t describe it as one. This is a drama that is largely filled with discussions and dialogue between deeply flawed characters. Nobody here is heroic and many lash out and react poorly. But this does allow for a wonderful and complex performance from Julia Roberts. She is fantastic in the movie, as the teacher is forced to deal with being caught in the middle of two conflicting versions of events. It ends up affecting her life, causing an old addiction to resurface and forcing her to deal head-on with a significant event from her past. This isn’t a sweet or even noble character, but she is compelling from beginning to end. The other central characters are all solid as well, with Stuhlbarg again making an impression as a put-upon spouse, offering advice that is frequently ignored.
While the performances are impressive, a frustrating aspect of the screenplay is that, perhaps to maximize drama in the story, the decisions the characters make are continuously poor. One bad decision follows another, with Hank lashing out verbally instead of trying to present himself in a calm manner, and Margaret (who may have plagiarized her thesis) appearing to manipulate others for more than simply finding justice. It does feel like the script is forcing some of this conflict and I imagine the behavior shown has been what outrages some. But one could convincingly argue that when these things occur in real life, some do respond in a self-destructive manner. Another issue is with the score. It literally ticks at times and while one admires the experimental sound choices, they can be distracting and take one out of the moment. Additionally, the finale seems too low-key, considering the extremes these characters were going through.
Having said all that, I still liked the picture. The characters are not movie archetypes, including several troubled individuals coming to terms with their acts and misdeeds while being forced to make rash decisions. Some of it is exaggerated and one can argue about the meaning (which I think was the point) but the result is a story that keeps one engaged and ignores a response. The acting is exceptional, presenting trials that fallible people endure after a terrible event. Like its characters, After the Hunt doesn’t aim to please, but does make an impact.