After the Hunt

This film, which is about the relationship between two women, both of whom need to face things they are avoiding, is awkward. It feels as if the director pushed too hard on some scenes and not hard enough on others; like he drags us to the trough but then doesn’t care if we drink or not.

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Also, I felt it tried to be edgy (with topics like “was it rape or not?” and “aren’t women supposed to believe each other?”) but it doesn’t have any teeth. We do a lot of wondering about what is really going on and even though we learn the truth in the final scenes, it doesn’t feel satisfying because the pacing is off.

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One small detail that makes no sense: we can hear Luca Guadagnino yell “Cut!” after the final scene. Why did they leave that in when it’s the only instance in the entire movie where the 4th wall is broken? That feels like a sloppy, egotistical decision.

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Julia Roberts holds the movie together but the writing and directing fail to congeal the essence, which feels misogynistic. Perhaps it’s left vague on purpose, because if we make an effort to distill the main message of this movie down, it is: “women can’t be trusted”.

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The film grossed 9.4 million against a budget of 7-80 million (with Julia Roberts taking home 20 million). I don't recommend this.

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