Editor’s Note: This piece contains mentions of sexual assault.
As film producer Robert Evans once said, “there are three sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth.” From the opening scenes at a lavish intellectual dinner party, absolute truth is elusive in Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt.” In this psychological thriller exploring the alleged rape of a college student by a tenure-track professor, Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield draw viewers into their complex inner world on Yale University’s campus. The film prompts viewers to question their instincts and underlying assumptions about who to trust and who to blame, inviting reflection on what blaming and othering really means in our modern society.
Alma (Julia Roberts), a dedicated philosophy professor struggling to come to terms with the reality of her past, self-medicating and closed off from the world, meets Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), a brilliant new-age student raised in the #MeToo movement era, ready to use social media and internet retribution to expose modern ills. As they clash, both must decipher who’s lying, who’s telling the truth and who is there for them in their darkest hours. Within the web of lies, the extent of Alma’s self-deception exposes her role as an unreliable narrator. As a complex, powerful protagonist, her character arc climaxes as she finally faces the ghosts of her past that still blur the lines of her present. Cancel culture and societal backlash might deliver the appearance of retribution, but together, they can find justice in personal peace.
The film explores prominent themes such as the panopticon, theories of self-policing, micro-aggressions and the use of social media to leverage blame. As referenced in the film, French philosopher Michel Foucault famously envisioned the “panoptic society,” where individuals live in heightened surveillance and self-police according to social norms to avoid consequences. No other period in human history has been marked by such public scrutiny or constant access to information as ours. For example, social media posts documenting the infamous Coldplay incident earlier this year, in which a Jumbotron moment exposed two executives having an affair, reached an audience of millions. “After the Hunt” considers whether cancel culture is nuanced enough to capture the complexities of the human experience.
Furthermore, the film critiques academia’s tendency to prioritize optics over justice. For example, Alma attempts to dissuade Maggie from reporting the incident, fearing how the academic world will perceive her. The college’s dean worries excessively about how the incidents could impact Yale’s reputation. Regrettably, the film similarly falls short in prioritizing the appearance of virtue rather than providing true depth. Several scenes fall flat due to caricatured representation of the younger generation. For example, Maggie’s partner, who is nonbinary and transgender, remains underdeveloped as a character. Without engaging dialogue or development, they are seemingly placed in scenes as a stand-in for the stereotypical outraged liberal. Guadagnino still offers several relevant critiques of academia and balances guilt with survivorship in equal measure.
Finally, “After the Hunt” blends masterful cinematography with hauntingly beautiful classical music, making the film a thoroughly enjoyable watch despite its flaws. Although the content may leave the audience wanting more originality and depth, the film accomplishes its goal of sparking dialogue about cancel culture and sexual abuse following the #MeToo era. Viewers will walk away having engaged in both personal reflection and expecting larger cultural dialogue.
As a college student, I was prompted to consider the resources available to address these complex topics on my campus and within my community. At Vanderbilt, we may similarly experience the pressures of rigorous higher education and face difficult situations that demand us to put our values into action. We can lean on resources like Dialogue Vanderbilt and Project Safe to facilitate open, meaningful discussion, including drawing in perspectives on topics represented in the film such as blaming, othering, cultural backlash and sexual assault. Together, we can address these issues and create a safer environment in higher education.
Written by Nora Garrett and directed by Luca Guadagnino, “After the Hunt” will be released in theaters Oct. 17. I highly recommend that everyone, especially college students, watch the film and consider these critical questions for themselves.
