The film of the week: ‘After the hunt’, sex, lies and power in a university environment – Primocanale.it

It is certainly no coincidence that the opening credits of After the hunt – After the hunt Of Luca Guadagninoa sui generis thriller about an episode of alleged sexual violence in the intellectual community of the prestigious Yale University, are offered to us with the same graphics and the same feature of mentioning the actors in alphabetical order that it normally uses Woody Allena clear reference to an artist who has become a symbolic figure of sexual abuse scandals in the world of cinema and more generally in US culture.

The plot

The film features protagonist Julia Roberts in the shoes of Alma Imhoffa philosophy professor vying for the professorship, a competition she shares with her colleague and friend Hank (Andrew Garfield). His world is turned upside down when the model student Maggiedaughter of wealthy university benefactors, gay with a hidden passion for the teacher and currently writing her doctoral thesis, accuses Hank of trying to sexually abuse her after a party at Alma’s house. From there on out the film almost entirely follows Alma and her thoughts as she deals with Hank and Maggie, along with glimpses of her personal struggles. Mirroring the collapse of a tried and tested way of life, her body begins to betray her and at the same time a troubled past comes back to haunt her: a repressed trauma that is materialized by increasingly frequent bouts of stomach pain. Although the matter is quite simple – Did Hank do it or didn’t he? – for her it becomes a challenge wanting to defend the girl but also maintain her professional composure and her intellectual rigor. The fact that Maggie is African-American and rich is another powder keg that will explode later in the story when recriminations bounce from one side to the other.

An intellectually dry material

The debut script Nora Garrett is challenging in every way by tackling a complicated topic without providing easy answers or messages, a decision that directs the audience to empathize with Alma and how she feels torn between two people she cares deeply about who suddenly find themselves on opposite ends of a conflict. Yet at the same time, it’s not as in-depth as it could be because the overly intellectual dialogue laced with philosophical language has the effect of making the characters seem like a parody of stuffy academia rather than a representation of it. Considering that one of Guadagnino’s greatest strengths has always been his ability to be a humanist, it is difficult to understand what drew him to such dryly intellectual, raw and emotionless material, despite the subject matter it deals with.

Thorny questions but Guadagnino is careful not to prick himself

Made with a fair amount of skill and intrigue, After the hunt is also a strangely confusing experience, full of gimmicks making the precise choice not to answer the questions it asks, not even in an epilogue with a twist five years after the events it tells. Guadagnino undoubtedly touches on some thorny issues but he is very careful not to sting himself by letting the public choose which side to take by projecting them into the vision of themes such as #MeToocancel culture, safe spaces, inclusiveness and diversity on the actions and words of the protagonists.

Hypocritical and unpleasant characters

But it’s hard to take sides when most of the characters are hypocritical, flawed human beings (like probably ourselves) and ultimately frankly all unlikable. A hyper-intellectualized film that is a little behind the times in questioning both the post-#MeToo context, how accusations of assault are handled and how one reacts, and in untangling a complicated investigation into identity politics that touches on issues of race and gender. It strives for moral ambiguity but ends up surprisingly morally crude, struggling to integrate ideas and characters.

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