When the Crowd Turns on the Auteur
Audiences have spoken — and not kindly. Luca Guadagnino‘s After the Hunt has earned a brutal C– CinemaScore, signaling one of the director’s worst receptions to date. That mark alone would sting, but paired with a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score, it cements a striking divide between Guadagnino’s usual acclaim and the audience’s flat rejection.
The film, which expanded nationwide on October 18, 2025, seemed poised for prestige: Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri headlining a psychological drama set within the hallowed halls of Yale. Instead, After the Hunt has become an object lesson in how artistic ambiguity can backfire when viewers crave resolution.
The Story That Refuses to Settle
At its core, the film centers on a sexual assault accusation that fractures an elite philosophy department. Ayo Edebiri’s Maggie Resnick accuses her mentor Hank Gibson (Garfield) of assault following a department party hosted by fellow professor Alma Imhoff (Roberts). What follows isn’t a clean investigation or courtroom reckoning, but a moral fog that Guadagnino refuses to lift.
There’s no catharsis here. No justice neatly served. Guadagnino, adapting from a stage play’s emotional architecture, leaves every possibility half-open — Maggie could be lying; Hank could be guilty; Alma could be protecting one or both. Audiences have been trained to expect closure, and this film offers none. It simply lingers, accusatory, daring you to pick a side you might regret.
Julia Roberts, the Conscience of Chaos
Roberts gives what might be her most complex performance in a decade. As Alma, she’s a woman of intellect paralyzed by empathy, unable to reconcile logic with loyalty. Her stillness becomes the film’s pulse — her face, a quiet battlefield. Every eye flicker feels like a confession she’ll never make.
In a better world, this would spark serious Oscar conversation. Roberts brings moral weight to a script that can feel airless and overstated. Her Alma is neither hero nor coward; she’s the academic observer crushed beneath her own neutrality. The camera clings to her, and for good reason — she’s the only figure in After the Hunt who still seems fully alive.
Guadagnino’s Experiment — and Its Limits
Ever since Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All, Guadagnino has thrived on emotional excess. Here, he swaps passion for paralysis. The result is a film that’s more about discomfort than desire — an academic exercise in guilt and silence.
That might have worked in Venice, where audiences often reward provocation. But on a wide scale, the lack of payoff plays as pretentious. Viewers expecting the lush sensuality of his earlier films found themselves facing a moral puzzle with missing pieces. CinemaScore polls are rarely kind to ambiguity, but even so, a C– feels like the cinematic equivalent of a door slammed shut.
Maybe That’s the Point
Watching After the Hunt feels like eavesdropping on a conversation you’re not supposed to hear. It’s raw, uneven, and occasionally infuriating. But at times — when Roberts hesitates, when Garfield’s façade cracks, when Edebiri’s trembling anger feels too real — it brushes against something honest.
Guadagnino’s film doesn’t collapse under its ideas; it just refuses to translate them for comfort. And maybe that’s its real transgression — it expects too much of an audience that’s already exhausted by moral complexity.
Why ‘After the Hunt’ Polarized Viewers
Complex morality: It refuses to name a villain or deliver catharsis.
Muted pacing: Guadagnino’s restraint feels like stagnation to many.
Academic setting: Its insular world alienates rather than invites.
Julia Roberts’ performance: The lone element universally praised.
#MeToo framing: Some found it provocative; others called it opportunistic.
FAQ
Why did After the Hunt receive a C– CinemaScore?
Because it denies emotional resolution. Viewers left unsettled rather than satisfied, a fatal flaw for mainstream audiences expecting closure.
Is Julia Roberts getting awards buzz despite the reception?
Critics agree she delivers one of her finest late-career performances, though the film’s toxicity might limit her awards traction.
Does Guadagnino’s direction still feel distinct?
Yes — visually elegant, narratively obtuse. It’s unmistakably his work, even when it stumbles.
Is After the Hunt worth seeing despite the bad reviews?
If you value ambiguity and character study over comfort, yes. If you crave narrative payoff, it’s a frustrating watch.
Could After the Hunt find redemption later, like other divisive films?
Possibly. Guadagnino’s movies often age well. Time might soften its reception once the noise fades.
