AFTER THE HUNT (2025)

A Yale college professor (Oscar-winner Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil (Emmy-winner Ayo Edibri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Oscar-nominated Andrew Garfield) and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light.  Directed by Oscar-nominee Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Challengers, Suspiria), this tense workplace drama also touches on many current hot-button issues and co-stars Emmy-nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, The Shape of Water) and Oscar-nominee Chloe Sevigny (Boy's Don't Cry, The Last Days of Disco).  

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

Transcript

AFTER THE HUNT - 2025

Directed by Luca Guadagnino

Starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edibri, Michael Stuhlbarg, Andrew Garfield, Lio Mehiel, David Lieber, and Chloe Sevigny

Genre: Mystery Drama (Audio clip)

Luca Guadanino's After the Hunt is a chilly, challenging, generally well-acted and often well-written though often frustrating drama which I'm not sure completely succeeds in accomplishing what it sets out to do...though I also can't be 100% sure of what it's trying to do. 🤨 I enjoyed it for what it was and I have little doubt that many will compare it to Tar. Tar is a movie which I quite liked but did not love as I feel as if it lost some of its thematic clarity to bombast (albeit highly entertaining bombast) in its third act. Whereas After the Hunt possibly suffers from the opposite problem: as its threads start to come together in the third act, it feels as if so much is treated matter-of-factly that it just doesn't feel as impactful. 

This isn't to say that Luca has lost his ability to present us with bizarrely single-minded characters bouncing off of each other in often uncomfortable ways as he pulled off to glorious effect in last year's Challengers. But with writer Nora Garrett, he has also confined these characters to a more labyrinthian (more than it needs to be) overall plot which puts more constraints on them. This especially comes through during several exchanges where characters are acting in predictably cliched ways based on the options available to them.....but they're also commenting on those cliches while they practice them. 🤔

It all takes place at Yale University (which frankly I'm amazed allowed their likeness to be used for this story) where two philosophy professors Alma (Julia Roberts) and Hank (Andrew Garfield) are soon hoping to be tenured....they are very friendly with some of their students, often socializing and drinking....including one gifted student Maggie played by Ayo Edibri (The Bear, Bottoms) who is currently working on her dissertation (which apparently she's struggling with) under the guidance of Alma. One evening, Alma and her doting psychologist husband Frederick (Michael Stuhlbarg) have hosted a dinner party at their swanky apartment where both Maggie and Hank attend, among several others....

At the end of the night, both Hank and Maggie leave at the same time....and then the following day, Maggie comes to Alma shaken and upset, recounting something awful which occurred later that night with Hank. 😯 Further complicating matters is that Alma herself has a questionable relationship with Hank - they're apparently drinking buddies....or they even more? AND....Alma not only has a drinking problem but is also apparently hooked on pain-killers which her husband at least moderately doles out to her every morning as part of her hangover/wake-up routine. 🫣 Charges are filed, investigations are launched, loyalties become called into question....and now we have a movie!

Everything I just described is pretty much set-up within the first half hour - I won't dare spoil much beyond that except to say that pretty much most of this is told from Alma's POV. And with Alma, Julia delivers a pretty exceptional performance as some one who has trapped herself within a pretty unsustainable cycle but can expect those around her to adapt to it....she's playing some one who comes off as very chilly initially and more is revealed beneath the surface as the story progresses. She and Stuhlbarg deliver the best performances as his character elicits the most sympathy....to a point. Regardless it's great to see Stuhlbarg REALLY get to cook here in a way that I have not seen him do in a big movie in years. 

I wish I could say the same about the rest of this stacked cast of talented leads - Ayo Edibri, Andrew Garfield, Chloe Sevigny - and they're each pretty good with what they're given on the page. But disappointingly, they're not given enough - it's intriguing to see Garfield play a genuine blowhard asshole for a change, his character is just not as well developed as it could have been, there's a lot left on the table. 

That said IF you look at this through more of the 'Tar lens - just mainly the story of the unraveling of an accomplished woman (Julia's Alma) within an academic setting and her tenuous relationship with her spouse - then it DOES work for the most part. There is just SO much discussion given towards complicated (and often quite topical) issues related to gender politics, consent, race, generational differences (There's a clear-cut battle here set up between Gen X and Millenials which is often referenced but never explored), class divide, addiction, and workplace relationships that it feels as if Luca and crew were aiming for more. Worth watching but ultimately not completely satisfying....at least upon first watch.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Wow have Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross been BUSY lately!  Re-emerging as Nine Inch Nails, they just released a kick-ass soundtrack for recent previous episode Tron Ares and they’re right back to conducting film scores which they did for this film….more low-key than some other recent scores but solidly effective and very piano-based. (Audio clip) 

Still for me the overall musical highlight comes at the very end….over the closing credits and it’s a song from an artist which I genuinely loved back in the ‘90’s and had NO IDEA that they were still putting out new music.  I’m listening to this peppy dance song and the voice catches me…and I’m like, “COULD that be….how old is this song? Never heard this one….” This song was from none other than the talented British dance pop duo from  from Kingston Upon Hull….Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt, I’m referring to Everything But The Girl.  And they are probably STILL best known for their breakout smash single from ’94, the dance remix of their single, “Missing.” You could NOT avoid this song in the mid ‘90’s and it’s a GREAT song. (Audio clip) 

Well apparently unbeknownst to me, Thorn and Watt reunited to produce their first new studio album in twenty-four years back in 2023, “Fuse” and the song we hear over the closing credits is a pretty catchy single from that album….it KIND of gibes with the themes of the movie and honestly it was just a nice, little surprise to hear Tracey Thorn’s lilting vocals again and she’s STILL got it – the song is the catchy, “Nothing Left to Lose.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

And sorry but this screenplay does Ayo even dirtier - she's playing some genuinely tricky notes at points and pulling them off, but they're pretty much all of the notes her character is allowed to play. It's probably this film's biggest failing that her seemingly troubled student's attitude and life is WAY more defined by how other characters describe her than anything we see on-screen. 🙄 And also I have heard and/or read some criticisms that Ayo Edibri is miscast, that she’s more of a “TV actress” who should stick to shows like “The Bear.”  And to that I say….watch previous episode Bottoms or hell, just watch the fourth season finale of “The Bear” – the woman can ACT.  I just don’t think she was given particularly good material to work with here – her character is written much more as a TROPE than an actual human being.  She deserved better. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

If I had to choose a genuine highlight, it would have to be one of the several well-acted exchanges between Roberts and Stuhlbarg as a very troubled wife and husband.  Pretty sad stuff actually and I feel like this SORT of culminates in an exchange they have later in the movie…..Roberts’ Alma is not only extremely hungover but pretty demoralized by recent events at this point, Stuhlbarg’s Fred is feeling his OWN kind of desperation too.  She’s sitting on a chair next to their bed, he comes up to her….kneels in front of her, places his arms on her lap….somewhat innocently….and just tries to connect with her a bit.  And she’s just not having it….and he’s just delicately trying to talk through it….and it’s certainly the most affecting moment in the movie.  Strong actors….just ACTING…with pretty minimal and natural dialogue….whodathunkit? 

MVP (person most responsible for the success of this film):

Even though I’m not completely crazy with how HER character is written – her Alma is probably given at least one too many indignant rants in this movie without seemingly any provocation – I still firmly believe that Julia shines the most here, even by default.  It’s crazy as they are COMPLETELY different movies but I feel like this character is actually remarkably similar to her character in previous episode Leave the World Behind….which I THINK is a pretty damn underrated movie at this point.  Her Amanda is an ultra-cynical, hard-bitten person….is it possible she’s being typecast at this point?  Hmmm….. (Audio clip) 

Yeah if you’ve listened to enough previous episodes of this podcast, it’s not exactly a new revelation on my part that Hollywood just DOESN’T know what to do with most actresses once they pass the age of 40….but she’s still undoubtedly one of the luckier ones and that’s just a discussion for a different time.  Regardless, she’s great her eand just based on all of the expositional dialogue she’s handed her, her character also has to carry more of this film’s narrative than you would expect…..Roberts is more than up to the task, even successfully humanizing a character who is often portrayed as very cold and heartless.  For delivering one of her best performances in years, Julia Roberts is the MVP. (Audio clip)    

Final Rating: 2.6 stars out of 5 

Yeah I’m not gonna lie here….considering the acting talent involved, the subject matter, and the fact that last year’s Challengers from this SAME director was one of my favorite movies, I considered this to be one of my more highly anticipated films for 2025….and ultimately left somewhat disappointed.  Though unlike other recent disappointments along the lines of Honey Don’t or the last Mission Impossible – which were both straightforward genre plays – I still feel as if the degree of difficulty for what Luca was trying to accomplish here was a bit higher.  Just challenging material and I’m glad that he at last tried….

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And that ends another LUKEWARM BATH FOR YOU TO SINK INTO…AND DROWN review!