After the Hunt Review (2025 BFI London Film Festival)
2024 saw Luca Guadagnino at the forefront of the cinematic scene, with his sweat-infused tennis love triangle in Challengers inspiring the trend for the Summer, and his psychedelic and vibrant adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novella Queer was a highlight of last year’s festival. Guadagnino returned for the 69th BFI London Film Festival with his “psychological thriller” — the highly divisive After the Hunt.
The indomitable Julia Roberts leads our players, as Alma, a philosophy professor at the prestigious Yale University, where she teaches PhD student Maggie (the undeniably talented, yet underused Ayo Edebiri) and works alongside longtime academic partner Hank (Andrew Garfield). A sexual assault allegation made against Hank turns a seemingly comfortable landscape of hedonistic and egotistical revelry on its head, as relationships, academic credibility and desire are called into question.
After the Hunt’s glaringly weak screenplay – poor dialogue, and unclear narrative direction, written by newcomer Nora Garrett – is held together purely by the strength of performances by the main ensemble. Notably, Garfield and Roberts, whose intoxicating chemistry as decade-old friends and colleagues provides a steady axis for the other players to revolve around. Their comfort and magnetic gravitation towards one another throughout the film suggests years of trust, intimacy and shared wisdom. It is hard to believe that After the Hunt is the first collaboration for Garfield and Roberts – and I hope it is not the last.
Known for his portrayal of a plethora of affable characters (think Peter Parker, Desmond Doss, Tobias) and likewise charming public demeanour, his role in After the Hunt is a striking dichotomy to the Garfield we’re used to – Garfield gives, arguably, the best performance of his career, as Hank. Hank is undeniably intelligent, sharp and sleazy. Upon the revelation of Maggie’s accusations against him, he’s a powder keg of paranoia. Garfield portrays this aggressive desperation best during a scene at the University, storming into Alma’s class, and after being escorted out by Alma, he confronts her in the corridor in front of her PhD students. Garfield is threatening, cornering Roberts, and puffing out his chest as he towers over her weakened frame. His eyes are unrecognisably dark, pupils blown as he shouts enraged nothings, betrayals, and profanities before locking eyes with Maggie (a bashful Edeybri) before thudding down the corridor in defeat. He shreds bulletin boards, throws chairs and kicks walls as he exits, and in a moment of disbelief, I was utterly terrified of Andrew Garfield.
Returning Guadagnino players Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me by Your Name) and Chloë Sevigny (Bones & All, We Are Who We Are), whilst being completely removed from the main plot of After the Hunt, provide the audience with fleeting moments of comedic relief, Stuhlbarg as Alma’s doting and eccentric therapist husband, Frederick, and Sevigny as Dr. Kim Sayers, Alma and Hank’s colleague who has a killer music taste, and is perhaps the only character in this morally grey landscape, with a grasp on ethics.
After the Hunt’s promotional slogan (and one of Alma’s lines in the film): “Not everything is supposed to make you comfortable”, is confounding. On the one hand, the film revolves around a sexual assault allegation, a plot that is guaranteed to make anyone uncomfortable. Uncomfortability stems primarily from the playful camera work of cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed, whose repetitious close-ups of our ensemble, lingering shots of doors left ajar, and lightwork create a myriad of cold, inescapable feelings of isolation, invasion and fear.
Yet, the delivery of the plot is messy, scenes are choppy, and characters are underdeveloped – particularly Ayo Edebiri’s Maggie, who, being the one to suffer the assault, should have had (at least) some stronger dialogue, and an opportunity to become a lot more three-dimensional. Additionally, it is an arguably bold choice to advertise the film with such a striking declarative, when to a large degree, it appears as a poor attempt to justify the audience’s reactions of frustration, confusion and upset at Guadagnino’s attempt to direct an undeniably weak screenplay.
From an audience perspective, the weaknesses of After the Hunt massively outweigh the strengths, and if a stellar cast like the one at its helm can’t save a script, there is major cause for concern. Ultimately, this one serves as a cautionary tale of collaboration. Whereas we saw some of Luca’s best work with writer Justin Kurwitz and designer Johnathan Anderson last year, Luca’s entry for the 2025 cinematic canon is far from great, which, as a huge Guadagnino fan, isn’t an easy pill to swallow.
★★
Screening at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival from October 11th, 13th and 18th / In UK cinemas on October 17th / Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevingy / Dir. Luca Guadagnino / Sony Pictures Releasing UK / 15
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