Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. Welcome.

Tick. Tick. Tick. The beginning of Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt begins with the persistence of time. It presumably is Guadagnino’s literal way of translating a ticking time bomb, but it can be taken exactly as is.there’s a countdown, but to what? Somewhere … at Yale… we will find out.

I was initially excited at the prospect of Guadagnino’s next film having this stellar cast of Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, and Michael Stuhlbarg, so this was on my anticipated list. Guadagnino certainly isn’t perfect, but he has the necessary parts to be, and can occasionally get trapped in his own artistry. How would he fare here?

the reaction to the film coming out of Venice wasn’t great.It wasn’t a film left abandoned by critics, but certainly entered the arena as divisive. Tepid reactions, a muted box office, and a struggle for awards recognition seemed to push After The hunt further away from my hopes for what it could be.

I’ve already been disappointed by an earlier presumed front runner of mine with Ballad Of A Small Player, which despite the caliber behind the camera, simply just didn’t play well. Still on the hunt for something for me to love, I was pleasantly surprised to be captivated by After The Hunt. It is far from perfect, but that imperfection makes it oddly more intriguing. If I could interview one person from this year and pick their brain, it would be Guadagnino. The resolutions aren’t satisfying, oddly confusing, and I’m not really sure what his opinion is of Gen Z, Millennials, cancel Culture, Me2, or anything. hell, I’m not even sure he understands higher education. but I’ve seen it twice, and I’d watch it a third time. this is like my Saltburn or Babylon of the year, something I feel drawn to, almost inexplicably.

The core of the story revolves around Alma (Roberts), who is an ethics professor at Yale, hoping to get tenure. Her contemporary is anything but, as Hank (Andrew Garfield) isn’t the same age as her, but up for the same tenure. My interpretation is that Guadagnino is using this casual casting to reflect on how things come easier for men, with the younger Hank on equal footing with Alma. Since the movie also hints at some sexual chemistry between these two, and ultimately the big truth revealed from Alma in the end, Garfield’s age, I believe, is intentional.

From that, Alma has a grad student (Edebiri), who is going to shake everything up. After a party at Alma’s, it appears her young assistant was taken advantage of by Hank. But, how exactly? Even the desire of the audience to know just how far Hank took it is blocked by Edebiri’s Maggie asking Alma “does it matter?” In a binary no means no, the fact that Hank, a faculty member, crossed any line, no matter how far, should be troubling.

This is where Alma becomes the center of he said/she said, despite her not having been there, and no real power to do anything except pick a side.

while Maggie is perhaps cagey on details, hank seems to embrace that he’s quite possibly in a no win situation, and explains his version very matter of fact way, but while gorging himself on food. If the scene with Dennis Quaid in the Substance was supposed to tell you something about his character, so should this for Hank.

So what is Alma to do? She continues to try and walk a line that doesn’t impact her, and put her tenure at risk. She listens to the advice of her husband (Stuhlbarg), who seems to see Maggie in a different light, but Guadagnino saddles Alma with an undefined until medically necessary pain that distracts her from her eye on the prize. He doesn’t even really have time to give much time to anyone else in the cast other than these four, because he has so much he clearly wants to say, and is cramming it in like a student trying to finish their paper the night before its due.

Somehow, watching this madness unfold, in a largely inoffensive and safe script, was fascinating. Julia Roberts is excellent as Alma, trying to keep all of Guadagnino’s little tactics about her character in line. Is she just the right kind of woman who could get tenure, and how does she cope with this swirling life around her? I might have left some elements off the table, as we never really get to dive into her marriage and the feeling of fragility.

Stuhlbarg, for me, was the standout. He plays this husband character far different from the bad guys he’s starting to get typecast as. it reminded me of what Guadagnino saw in him with Call Me By Your Name, suggesting Stuhlbarg may be his muse. Then again, Guadagnino did use him in a very different role for Bones And All, so perhaps not.

But this guy is a mensch. He puts out vitamins for Alma every morning before she wakes up. He’s aware of all her misdeeds, and still looks at her like he just wants her to see him the same way he sees her. it is such a subtle thing to see his character go through a different arc outside this sexual assault scandal, I couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

Garfield does nice work, though I had a hard time buying him as a college professor. he still acts like someone who would attend college, not teach it. I’d buy him as a grad student, though the power dynamic wouldn’t be there. he’s great at playing cocky though, something his role needs. Edebiri does a nice job never answering any of your questions. Her role is intended to be an enigma, either totally telling the truth, or full of bullshit, but either way, she never really tips her hat. the film never allows it.

The score, by frequent collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, isn’t their most memorable, but certainly still challenges the ideas of what they can write as composers. Mostly, this film hinges on Guadagnino as the captain of the ship. Perhaps there’s a lost translation from script to screen, but I’m still fuzzy on what exactly Guadagnino wants us to take away from this. there’s a hint that the time for all of this is over anyway, as in the background in the final scene we hear how companies are moving away from DEI, and no longer fact checking. I also think this profound ambiguity is the charm of the film. It becomes a conversation piece between friends, as you debate the “but what does this mean?”

I thought the audio description was terrific, and it noticed so many quirky little character traits along the way. From Alma’s reactions, to Hank’s eating habits, to Stuhlbarg’s looks that say everything.

Sometimes critics don’t align with you. You may still hate the film, but you also might love it. I’m happy to be in the minority that is captivated by how Luca Guadagnino says so much without actually saying anything at all. truly, in what seems like a no win situation, he finds some way to make everyone a winner and loser in some regard. when you’re down, you’re up?

Guadagnino taps into the idea that perhaps we are staggeringly average, and defined only by the events, often which happen to us. For anyone who can relate to impostor syndrome, or who have yet to accept mediocrity in their blood, this might trigger introspection. Or, perhaps not, and Guadagnino is taking down higher education, or something else entirely.

After The Hunt is a fragmented, imperfect think piece, somehow far more charming than it should be, with an underrated Michael Stuhlbarg acting as a lighthouse in Guadagnino weather.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8.3/10