Julia Roberts is challenging audiences to talk again with her new film, After The Hunt, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The actress, who stars in the drama about a student accusing her professor of sexual assault, according to bbc.com, commented that “we’re losing the art of conversation in humanity.”
The film has already sparked debate for its ambiguous portrayal of events, casting doubt on both the student’s and the professor’s accounts. Roberts told reporters she wanted the film to be challenging, stating, “We are challenging people to have conversation and to be excited by that or to be infuriated by that.”
Directed by Luca Guadagnino of Call Me by Your Name fame, After The Hunt co-stars Andrew Garfield as the accused professor and Ayo Edebiri as the student. The script, written by Nora Garrett, presents a complex narrative with no clear stance. Roberts’ character, Alma, is caught in the middle, navigating her allegiance to both parties.
While Roberts has received praise for her performance—with critics hailing it as her “best in years”—the film as a whole has divided opinions. Some critics have called its approach to sensitive issues “troubling,” while others noted it falls short of being truly provocative. The film’s ambiguous nature is intentional, with Roberts emphasising that it’s meant to get people to “go away and talk to each other.”
Roberts said she was drawn to the complex nature of the characters. “Trouble is where the juicy stuff is, right?” she said, describing the film as a “dominoes of conflict.”
Garfield echoed this sentiment, explaining that the characters’ motivations are often “invisible, even to ourselves.” He found the flawed, human nature of the story compelling, especially in a culture where people often act like “unreliable narrators.”
Amazon is set to release After The Hunt later this year, and Roberts hopes it will be a catalyst for the very thing she feels we are losing: genuine human conversation.
•Featured image: Julia Roberts/Getty Images
