Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, After The Hunt, has sparked mixed reactions from critics as it delves into the complexities of cancel culture and personal dilemmas faced by its characters.
‘After The Hunt’: Critics Weigh In on Luca Guadagnino’s Cancel Culture Thriller
Amazon MGM Studios and Luca Guadagnino’s psychological drama-thriller After the Hunt is launching today at the Venice Festival, tackling a timely subject.
Plot Overview
Julia Roberts leads the cast as a college professor at a personal and professional crossroads when a star student (Ayo Edebiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Andrew Garfield). A dark secret from her past threatens to surface. Michael Stulbarg and Chloë Sevigny also star in this film, which explores themes of cancel culture, the MeToo movement, and free speech.
Critical Reception
Critics have begun to share their thoughts on the film, with responses being decidedly mixed. However, Roberts consistently garners praise.
Deadline lauds Roberts, stating: “Though its conversations about tenure can be a chore, its presentation of the modern campus as the Somme in terms of the battleground for progressive politics strikes a very timely chord. It’s also Julia Roberts’ best work in a long time, a superb feat of casting that genuinely sends shivers and may well bury that old America’s Sweetheart image for good.”
The UK’s Daily Telegraph awarded the film five stars, calling it a “devilish cancel culture thriller” and proclaiming that Julia Roberts is “back to her best.”
While the Times of London requires a subscription to read its review, it boldly claims: “Julia Roberts will win an Oscar for this MeToo story.”
The Playlist gave the movie a C+ score, noting: “The film’s preoccupations lie not as much with existential questions of morality but with more primitive matters of yearning. As a study of the former, Guadagnino’s drama feels lacking, but if seen as a musing on the latter, it opens up as an imperfect but still fascinating read.”
The Guardian was less favorable, awarding the film two stars and describing it as a “muddled campus accusation drama.” They remarked: “Luca Guadagnino’s latest is clenched in its own sense of relevance, as a desire to find complexity in a scandal at Yale becomes a noncommittal jumble of ideas.”
See More ...
The Film Stage criticized the movie as “regressive and unimaginative,” stating: “After the Hunt aims to tackle our so-called cancel culture, but wrestling with that weighty topic isn’t the same as meaningfully reckoning with it.”
The South China Morning Post gave the film 2.5/5 stars, calling it “muddled.” They noted: “While Julia Roberts shines in After the Hunt, which explores the chaos of a sexual assault case, the real crux of the story remains unclear.”
Decider also struggled with the film, suggesting it “might be too smart for its own good.” They remarked on the film’s slow pacing and the feeling of claustrophobia from the sparse set design.
Production Details
Written by screenwriter Nora Garrett, the movie follows the busy Italian director Guadagnino’s recent projects, including the sports romance Challengers, starring Zendaya, and Queer, starring Daniel Craig.
Producers on After the Hunt include Brian Grazer and Allan Mandelbaum for Imagine Entertainment, along with Oscar nominee Guadagnino under his Frenesy banner. Garrett also serves as an executive producer.
The feature launches on October 10.
