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Julia Roberts returns in a powerful lead role in After the Hunt, a campus-set psychological drama directed by Luca Guadagnino, also starring Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Premiered on opening night at the 2025 New York Film Festival, the film hits New York and Los Angeles theaters on October 10, with national release to follow.
A storm on campus, quiet tension on screen
At the center of After the Hunt is Alma (Julia Roberts), a seasoned academic caught between loyalty, truth, and her own buried regrets. Her protégé Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), a determined PhD student, accuses Hank (Andrew Garfield), another professor and close friend of Alma, of sexual misconduct. With the institution in turmoil, it’s Alma who must navigate a minefield of moral uncertainties.
Guadagnino doesn’t direct with a highlighter. He lets the gray areas speak for themselves, and it’s up to us, the viewers, to decide what feels right, or at least what feels honest. One moment in particular—when Alma watches her own silence echo in the actions of others—stays in the mind long after the credits. It’s not about who’s guilty. It’s about how people deal with complicated truths, and what they choose to ignore.
A cast that thrives in nuance
Julia Roberts brings quiet force to Alma. There’s a softness in her performance that never slips into complacency; it’s a woman who’s built a career on reason now faced with everything emotion refuses to let go of. At 30, having watched Roberts in so many iconic roles, I found this one startling. She’s still magnetic, but here she plays a character whose core is fear, not charm. To read Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton face off in 2026’s Apex trailer
Andrew Garfield takes a different path—his Hank is neither apologetic nor villainous. Garfield talked about the character having to face an “inner reckoning.” It shows. His expressions are guarded, layered, unsure whether to protect or collapse. And Ayo Edebiri, best known for her energy and wit in other roles, turns in a measured, inward performance. Her character isn’t written to be vindicated or dismissed. Just heard.
Michael Stuhlbarg plays Alma’s husband Frederick, a secondary but crucial figure, mirroring Alma’s own quiet crisis. He spoke about the film’s “atmosphere of uncertainty,” and that’s exactly right—this isn’t a story that wraps things up. It lingers, uncomfortable and unresolved.
A rehearsal process grounded in empathy
It’s rare that actors talk about rehearsals as something transformative, but that’s what happened here. The entire cast, including Roberts and Garfield, rehearsed scenes in Roberts’ home. Edebiri noted how freeing that environment was: it wasn’t just about learning lines, but understanding every weight behind them.
From what they all shared, it sounds like the script was approached almost like a piece of chamber music:
- Subtext mattered as much as dialogue
- Casting wasn’t just fit, it was chemistry
- Everyone was given space to interpret
- Emotional pacing took precedence over dramatic peaks
The way they worked, you can feel it in the film. No actor is trying to “win” a scene. They’re just breathing inside moments. To read Ranking Shyamalan’s Hits: Which Film Defines His Legacy?
Themes of denial, forgiveness, and the silence that hurts
Nora Garrett, a debut screenwriter, crafted this story around Alma. She’s not a heroine. She’s not even entirely likable. Garrett even said she left Alma “unreadable” by design. That’s brave writing—especially in a world where we often expect clear sides and loud resolutions.
Julia Roberts revealed that a song about forgiveness plays seven times in the film. Seven. That’s not a coincidence. It becomes like a haunting refrain, a reminder that this isn’t a courtroom drama. It’s about how people process pain—others’ and their own.
To me, the most powerful tension isn’t between Maggie and Hank. It’s between Alma and what she’s chosen not to see. And that’s why this film hit me hard. Because sometimes it’s easier to advocate for honesty in others than to confront it in ourselves.
A debut that leaves space for discussion
Both Garrett and Stuhlbarg have said they hope the film creates conversation. And judging by its NYFF reception, it’s already happening. People are walking out not with firm positions, but with questions. And in a world that often pushes for declarations, that’s refreshing.
What’s exciting here is that this kind of story, anchored by a first-time screenwriter and handled with such emotional restraint, was given a major platform. Amazon MGM Studios and Imagine Entertainment are clearly betting on thoughtful cinema. Let’s hope more studios follow suit.
