After the Hunt is a 2025 psychological thriller film directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Nora Garrett. Starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny, it follows Alma, a college professor caught in between a sexual abuse accusation involving one of her students and a colleague. The film had its world premiere out of competition in the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025, where it received mixed reviews from critics. It was released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios on October 10, 2025. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with Roberts' performance receiving high praise. == Premise == A college professor is forced to grapple with her own secretive past after one of her colleagues is faced with a serious accusation. == Cast == Julia Roberts as Alma Imhoff, a respected, well-liked professor at Yale University Ayo Edebiri as Margaret "Maggie" Resnick, a young philosophy student and Alma's protégée Andrew Garfield as Henrik "Hank" Gibson, Alma's colleague and close friend who is accused of assault Michael Stuhlbarg as Frederik Imhoff, Alma's psychiatrist husband Chloë Sevigny as Dr. Kim Sayers, the university's student liaison and Alma's friend Thaddea Graham as Katie David Leiber as Dean RJ Thomas Lío Mehiel as Alex, a law student and Maggie's partner Will Price as Arthur == Production == In March 2024, it was announced that Julia Roberts was set to star in the film, with Luca Guadagnino set to direct. In May, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri joined the cast, Garfield desired to work with Guadagnino since the release of I Am Love. In June, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny joined the cast. Guadagnino cast Edebiri after seeing her in Bottoms (2023). Principal photography began in London and Cambridge University on July 6, 2024. That same month, Lio Mehiel, Thaddea Graham, Will Price, Christine Dye, and Burgess Byrd joined the cast of the film. Filming wrapped on August 16, after six weeks of shooting. Cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed shot the project on 35mm film, marking his return to a feature film production after 25 years. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score. == Release == The film premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025, followed by its North American premiere as the opening film of the 63rd New York Film Festival in October 2025. It opened in limited release in the United States on October 10, 2025, before expanding to wide release on October 17. It will be the first film from Amazon MGM Studios to be released internationally by Sony Pictures Releasing International following the conclusion of a three-year deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. === Critical response === On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 40% of 112 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "After the Hunt doesn't lack for fine performances, especially from a standout Julia Roberts, but its coy followthrough on incendiary themes makes for an uncharacteristically toothless provocation from director Luca Guadagnino." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Several critics praised Roberts' performance, calling it one of her best in years and describing it as "superb" and a "monumental center" of the entire film. Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the "urgent and provocative conversation piece" of the film, and noted that it "has been made with a fair amount of craft and intrigue”, but said, “it's also a weirdly muddled experience; a tale that's tense and compelling at times, but dotted with contrivances and too many vague unanswered questions". Bilge Ebiri of Vulture wrote that "After the Hunt might be confused, and it might even be unsatisfying, but it also refuses to coddle anyone, and that feels like some sort of victory" because "[it] seems engineered to let each viewer see what they want in it, both the good and the bad". In a negative review, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote that "Luca Guadagnino misfires with this bafflingly overlong, overwrought #MeToo campus accusation drama", finding Garrett's screenwriting "worryingly muddled and contrived" and the characterisations "unfocused", which penalise the cast's acting skills. == See also == Post-assault treatment of victims of sexual assault == References == == External links == After the Hunt at IMDb