Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault.
Andrew Garfield. Ayo Edebiri. Julia Roberts. What these three have in common, besides an impressive array of awards, is that they lead the star-studded cast of Luca Guadagnino’s newest film, “After the Hunt,” one of my most highly anticipated films of the year. However, with its subpar plot and disjointed editing style, my anticipation and excitement were unfortunately unjustified.
Released in theaters Friday, less than a year after Guadagnino’s last project, “Queer,” “After the Hunt” centers around Yale professor Alma Imhoff (Roberts) as she handles the fallout from PhD student Maggie Resnick (Edebiri) accusing her close colleague, Hank Gibson (Garfield), of sexual assault. The plot progresses as Imhoff finds herself at odds with believing the side of either individual and eventually becomes fully embedded in the debacle herself.
While the plot sounds intriguing, its execution is less than satisfactory. With about a two-and-a-third hour runtime, there should have been no reason for audiences to leave the theater with a host of questions — yet, for me, that is exactly what happened.
In the interest of time, the movie utilizes a five-year flash-forward to illustrate the growth, or lack thereof, Imhoff and Resnick experience after the prior events. I could not help but wonder what specifically happened within those five years.
One of the turning points of Imhoff’s attitude towards Resnick’s accusation was the revelation that the student was planning to press charges against Gibson. The audience, however, never gets to know whether that suit formally took place.
Another questionable moment was the quick rebuilding of Imhoff’s credibility. In the flashforward, it is revealed that after publishing a story about her personal experience with statutory rape, she has become the dean of Yale.
Given that Imhoff was under investigation for forging a prescription and also under fire after the publication of an op-ed by Resnick condemning her, it seems unlikely that the professor would be able to wipe the slate clean and climb up the ladder to become the dean of one of the country’s most prestigious universities in such little time. More time should have been spent focusing on what happened in those five years as opposed to glossing over them.
The number of questions the plot leaves behind can in part also be attributed to the film’s disjointed editing. There were numerous filler scenes in which the audience would see Imhoff doing menial tasks, such as stopping by a liquor store or writing at her desk, before the scene would abruptly cut to another.
This form of editing and the amount of non-substantial scenes felt unnecessary and contributed nothing further to the plot.
However, there were some positive, noteworthy spots throughout the film. Both the costuming and Garfield’s performance were exceptional.
What stands out about the costuming the most was its subtlety. As the movie is set at a college, most of the outfits are traditional academia wear, collared shirts, slacks and on occasion, a bold blazer.
With the costumes, the film portrayed the relationship between Resnick and Imhoff through nearly unnoticeable changes in Edebiri’s wardrobe.
At one of the film’s most climactic points, Imhoff comments on how Resnick has started mirroring her. This draws attention to both characters’ outfits, and sure enough, Resnick is wearing the same all-white outfit that the audience has already grown to associate with Roberts’ character.
This commentary about how Resnick’s relationship with Imhoff has subtly grown into idolization was one of the few directorial decisions that deserve full appreciation.
Garfield’s performance is also worth noting because it felt like a true departure from some of his previous roles. Most widely known as Spider-Man, Garfield’s role in this film could not be any further from a hero.
As Gibson, Garfield tapped into a character with more villainous tendencies, and he did it masterfully. Only time will tell if Garfield continues to pursue more of these complicated characters.
Guadagnino has several upcoming projects, notably his rendition of “American Psycho.” As “After the Hunt” had a rushed and unfinished feeling to it, most likely resulting from its rapid production, one can only hope that the film director will realize the power of quality over quantity and approach future projects with more time and care.
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