Tuesday, October 14, 2025
After The Hunt
The film starts with an ominous sound of a clock ticking as the audience enters the home of Alma & Fredrick who are hosting a gathering of Yale faculty & students having intellectual conversations. This ticking sounded like a timer for a bomb about to explode. We observe key characters stealing glances at each other & subtle gestures hinting at possible relationships. A trip to the bathroom left with an empty toilet paper roll sets off our first warning alarm. Key players here are: 1. Alma (Julia Roberts), associate professor, 2. Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), PhD student, & 3. Hank (Andrew Garfield) assistant professor. This becomes a case of “she said”/“he said” with Alma caught in the middle as accusations are made by both sides. Maggie is a star student & Alma’s protégée. Hank is Alma’s friend & colleague. Audiences will be searching for clues to separate the truths from the lies. These three give emotionally charged performances, but this dialogue driven script feels like it’s going nowhere. All of these characters seem to be flawed. As I️ became less interested in the characters & the script, I️ became more attracted to & distracted by the visuals of the settings & creative depth of field focus camera work. The film concludes with a final scene between Alma & Maggie admitting to their regrets about how things played out between them & how they have moved on with their lives. I️ don’t see this film being popular with the general public. To quote this movie’s tag line: “Not everything is suppose to make you comfortable”.
Alien gives it 2 “hands & black fingernail polish” stars out of 4.
