A professor gets caught between the fronts in a #MeToo scandal: “After the Hunt” shows Julia Roberts at the top of her abilities.
Even though it's been some time since her last theatrical success, Julia Roberts is still one of the biggest names in the film business. In “After the Hunt” she plays a philosophy professor. The film tells a “campus story” that seems to be directly inspired by recent headlines: it’s about a #MeToo accusation and identity politics. However, the fact that director Luca Guadagnino quotes a typeface that Woody Allen made his signature in the opening credits serves as the first indication that the Italian director does not intend to completely fit into a politically correct pattern.
He is one of those filmmakers who also have a “European touch” in their US work. In “After the Hunt,” for example, none of the characters who initially talk to each other at a faculty party in Professor Alma’s (Roberts) house are particularly likeable. Alma's colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield) is a goofy show-off, her favorite student, Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), seems like a stubborn striver, and her loyal husband, Frederik (Michael Stuhlbarg), is a bit underexposed.
At the same time, there seems to be tension in all relationships with Alma: she has more in common with Hank than just a flirtation, but he is also her competitor for “tenure,” the coveted permanent academic position. Maggie adores Alma, but perhaps more as an idol to be imitated than as an object of real affection. And Frederik has a sharper eye for the circumstances than Alma herself. In any case, Hank and Maggie leave the party together. The next day, a trembling Maggie sits in Alma's doorway and accuses Hank of sexual assault.
Here, Guadagnino (based on a script by Nora Garrett) adds a disturbing element to the patterns of the #MeToo narrative that have become uncomfortably familiar: Alma stands between the fronts of victim and perpetrator.
Not just because she knows those involved and doesn't fully believe either of them. The highlight of the film is that she had an experience as a young woman that left her feeling self-conscious, and in a way that was different than expected. Guadagnino tells this story in a linear and almost demonstratively conventional way, but skillfully uses ellipses that irritate the flow of the usual. His depiction of American campus life walks a fine line between idyll and caricature. A rich background of excellently cast supporting characters who impress with lively short appearances - Chloë Sevigny as a doctor and therapist is sublimely unimpressive - ensures a variety of tones and many a surprise.
The biggest? Roberts herself. She gets to play a role here that we would otherwise know from Tilda Swinton or Nina Hoss: a beautiful woman who can be complicated and a bit cold at the same time. Even if you don't quite believe her to have the intellectuality of a professor, Roberts creates an impressive portrait of tactical professionalism and discipline, self-destructive but without self-pity. The film may not add anything to the #MeToo discussion, but it shows Roberts at the top of her game.
Viennale-Term: 21.10. at 6 a.m., October 22nd. at 6 p.m., October 27th at 3:30 p.m., always in the Gartenbaukino.
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