Luca Guadagnino's ‘After the Hunt' Test Screens; Timely #MeToo Thriller, Julia Roberts is “Incredible"

Fresh off a year that saw him release two well-reviewed films (“Challengers” and “Queer”) Luca Guadagnino has already shot his next one, “After the Hunt,” a Julia Roberts starring thriller that recently landed at Amazon/MGM Studios.

The script was written by Nora Garrett (“Beirut”), and features an ensemble cast that includes Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Chloë Sevigny, Ayo Edibiri, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Cinematographer Malik Hassan (“Lemonade”) lenses the film.

With all that said, “After the Hunt” test screened this week, and first reactions hint at a film that’ll create heated discourse come next year.

In the film, Roberts plays a Yale professor who hosts a dinner party for her colleagues and pupils. The next day, a student (Edibieri) accuses her professor (Garfield) of sexually assaulting her the night of the party. The rest of the film has Robert’s navigating the situation, making sense of the accusations, and trying to figure out who is the liar, just as a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light. 

The film is said to be highly stylized, albeit not in the in-your-face way of “Challengers” and “Queer.” Guadagnino tackles hot-button topics such as rape culture, trauma and #MeToo. Roberts is said to be “incredible” in the lead role, and this comes after Guadagnino himself told Marc Maron that he believes Roberts gives the performance of her career in the film.

[The film] is about what happens in the milieu of academia between older and younger people. It tackles the idea of consent. The movie is very provocative […] I’ve been a fan of Julia forever, as a movie star, she has something that not everybody has, and, I’m trying not to be presumptive, but I feel like this is the best performance she’s ever given.

Guadagnino goes on to state that “After the Hunt” is a very timely film about conflict and where we are now as a society. It is not a film about sexuality, or love, and it’s one of the rare times in his career where he hasn’t tackled those topics.

A 2025 release is being planned for the film. Deadline had previously reported that, for the last few years, “every A-list director and star” had been chasing this project since its inception in 2022.