After the Hunt
After the Hunt opens in theaters Friday, October 17th. Rated R.
A college professor (Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil (Ayo Edibiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Andrew Garfield) and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light.
STORY: C+
Too smart for its own good.
Hospital dramas fill the screen with fancy medical talk flying across the screen faster than a swarm of bumble bees dressed in tiny, tiny scrubs. We don’t need to understand what it all means. The technical language is only there to help create realism.
But the philosophy jargon in After the Hunt is doing some multi-tasking. More than creating an authentic academic atmosphere, it adds deep thematic resonance to the story. People who knows their philosophy will love it and appreciate it.
The rest of us (myself included) will still understand the story just fine, but after a while the dialogue starts to feel like an unfair assignment.
PEOPLE: B+
Julia Roberts’s got game.
Long cemented as the go-to for any film in need of an “American Sweetheart,” Roberts sheds that familiar skin and slips into something a little less cozy: the darker side of ambition that sometimes comes with the American dream.
We’re never entirely sure what side of the moral fence she’s sitting on, which makes her performance absolutely delicious. Here’s hoping she plays against type more often.
Also, Michael Stuhlbarg may be facing jail time for stealing every scene he’s in. It’s hard to imagine any of his many moments of ridiculous, physical flair were scripted, but each one infuses the film with a wicked jolt of energy.
FILM NERD STUFF: A
A camera with a (brilliant) mind of its own.
This is a talky movie that could have easily felt like a static stage play. But director Luca Guadagnino and DP Malik Hassan Sayeed’s camera refuse to allow such a thing.
The camera often hangs out to the side, catching its subjects in the reflection of a mirror or window. Other times it plops down right in front of a character, turning a conversation into an interrogation.
The camera is also a big fan of squeezing its subjects toward the edge of the frame. In one brilliant shot, Alma is shoved up against the right edge of the screen as Hank’s chiseled jaw arrives and conquers the remainder of the frame. One image, no words, and the dynamics are crystal clear.
ONE BIG QUESTION: B
Do you want the truth?
The film plays like a modern day, elite academic version of Akira Kurosawa's 1950 classic, Rashomon.
Like that film it asks, who’s telling the truth? What reason would they have for not telling the truth? How do we find our way to the truth if we can’t agree on it? And if we can’t agree, what happens to society?
FINAL COMMENTS:
After the Hunt is an exquisitely made film. The plot is engaging. The acting, wonderful. The camerawork, riveting. And Trent Reznor’s schizophrenic soundtrack is mesmerizing.
For most of us, that’s plenty enough for a good time at the movies. Just know that the film is a deep dive. Make sure to pack your Philosophy-Spark Notes scuba gear.