Director Luca Guadagnino, screenwriter Nora Garrett and stars Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri and Michael Stuhlbarg spoke with college journalists Saturday, Sept. 27, during a hybrid press conference for their upcoming thriller “After the Hunt.”
The movie is a Yale University-set drama that examines secrecy, intimacy and power in academia.
Set to release in theaters nationwide Oct. 17 from Amazon MGM Studios, “After the Hunt” follows a Yale professor whose past decisions resurface when a former student brings forward troubling accusations. The film explores privilege, ambition and secrecy, themes the cast and crew unpacked throughout the discussion.
Guadagnino explained that Yale’s closed environment made it an ideal setting for the film.
“The idea of a contained space, the small space of New Haven and then another smaller space, the campus of Yale, was a great tool to tell the story from a cinematic perspective,” he said.
Garrett added that the physical atmosphere of campus also shaped the writing.
“The Gothic architecture was very evocative because it’s both kind of oppressive and lofty, simultaneously,” he said.
For Roberts, the intensity of the setting mirrored the demands of embodying a character so unlike herself.
“I’m just a much more wide open, frank person, and to deal with posturing at all times is so exhausting,” Roberts said. “To perform it and to keep track of all that was really an immense challenge for me as an actor.”
Roberts’ character, Alma, experiences immense tension with her student Maggie, played by Edebiri, a conflict driven by underlying power dynamics. While Maggie seeks mentorship, she also feels betrayed by her professor’s guarded nature.
Garfield reflected on this dynamic, suggesting that a certain level of betrayal may be inherent in these relationships.
“There’s something about mentorship that has baked into it betrayal,” he said. “In a true intimate mentorship, there has to be some betrayal from the elder to the younger in order for the younger to become an elder.”
For Garfield, that moral complexity carried over into his own role. Known for portraying heroic characters like Peter Parker in “The Amazing Spider-Man,” he said stepping into a darker part was both daunting and rewarding.
“I relish the opportunity to jump into this with Luca, knowing that it was quite scary personally, but I just really trust him,” he said.
Stuhlbarg expanded on this challenge, noting that playing morally complex characters is more about honest portrayal than defending their choices.
“I’m not sure if we’re seeking empathy if our characters are doing something disagreeable,” he said. “From the inside, you take what you’re given and you put it out there, and you let the chips kind of fall where they may.”
For Guadagnino, the characters’ struggle with right and wrong reveals the complicated ways in which intimacy can unravel, a theme he considers to be at the heart of this film.
“More than in other movies that I made where intimacy is in the reach to the other, in the love for the other, in the desire for the other,” he said. “In this movie, the desire for the other is an appearance. The conflict with the other is the moment where, finally, people come together.”
Students will have the opportunity to see the film Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Kent Plaza Cinema.
Following the film, associate professors Karisa Butler-Wall and Scott Hallgren from the School of Media and Journalism will lead a brief discussion. Amazon MGM Studios will provide each attending student with a free small popcorn and soda.
Alexis Hood is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].