New York – Julia Roberts’ latest film dares to ask offensive questions.
In After the Hunt, A-lister plays Yale philosophy professor named Alma Imhoff, whose close colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield) is accused of sexual assault by star alumni Maggie (Ayo Edebili). Alma is torn between her loyalty to Hank and her belief in Maggie, but she threatens that her own dark secrets will bubble to the surface.
She unleashes mentally and physically in the course of the drama, tackling the hot button issues of accountability, privilege, political correctness, and cultural cancellation.
“It’s so early to talk about movies like this!” Roberts joked during a morning Q&A at the New York Film Festival on September 26th.
“Everything that natural for Alma is unnatural to me as a human being, so it was interesting to try and find an effort to address it,” Roberts said. “I was able to make it clear internally for myself in finding intrusions with each character along with my castmates. But it was complicated. It was certainly tricky material.”
Roberts, 57, took mostly the back seat as the project’s cast and creative team asked questions from reporters. Edebili and Garfield spoke at length about whether each character is “likeable” and whether the actor has ever discussed what “really” happened between Maggie and Hank.
“Don’t you want Andrew to be your therapist?” Roberts marveled lightly. “He’s my therapist and I feel good.”
She then tortured Director Luca Guadanino with questions about ethics and morality. (“You answer,” Roberts told him. “You are the smartest!”)
Guadagnino gently hones the “provocator” label and says, “I say I don’t like to scandalize for that. I think it’s childish. …Do you like to make films that make the audience feel?
Julia Roberts Movie “After Hunt”: Release Date Comes After Mixed Review
In August, “After the Hunt” premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where critics sharply split 49% positive reviews about rotten tomatoes. The film will begin with a limited release on October 10th, before expanding to theaters nationwide on October 10th.
The spiny film is Roberts’ first potential award bid since the 2018 addictive drama Ben is Back. The Megawatt Oscar winner recently achieved success in 2023 with “Leave the World” on Netflix and “Leave the World,” which was heavily played on “Leave the World” in 2022 with “Tickets to Paradise” in 2022.
Meanwhile, Guadanino has a fruitful recent output, including last year’s sultry tennis film “Challenger” starring Zendaya and “Queer,” a mesmerick character study with Daniel Craig.
New York Film Festival Schedule: NYFF Lineup 2025
The New York Film Festival will be held until October 13th, with high-profile screenings including Bruce Springsteen’s drama Springsteen: Delivery Me New My, Daniel Day Lewis’ comeback vehicle Anemone, and the world premiere of Bradley Cooper’s latest director’s outing.
