The highly anticipated prestige drama “After the Hunt” put CinemaCon in its crosshairs on Wednesday, delivering an exhilarating and deeply conflicting first look at the Julia Roberts-Luca Guadagnino film collaboration.
Heavily tipped for awards buzz already, “After the Hunt” played confidently and compelled the audience of global movie theater owners at their annual Las Vegas convention.
Roberts stars as a college professor who “finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil (Ayo Edebiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Andrew Garfield),” according to a synopsis. As she grapples with an ugly situation, “a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light.”
In what Guadagnino teased as the best performance of Roberts’ career, the footage played shows the Oscar winner in top form as a shock-blonde, east coast academic elite. Her circle of slightly sycophantic colleagues (Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloe Sevigny) tout her brilliance, even as her reckless former lover Garfield pushes boundaries verbally and, eventually, physically.
She’s also got a promising protege in Edebiri, who turns up at her apartment in shambles alleging Garfield “crossed a line. He kept going after I said no.” The ensuing scandal tests boundaries across a spectrum of beliefs and expectations, and has serious consequences for Roberts’ character as her chickens come back to roost.
“I’m no longer comfortable having this conversation with you,” Edebiri tells Roberts in a particularly fraught confrontation.
“Not everything is supposed to make you comfortable,” Roberts seethes in return.
On stage, Guadagnino told the exhibitors he was “extremely proud of what I’m going to share with you tonight.” He may well be saying that many more times as we approach trophy season.
“After the Hunt” is from Imagine and Frensey Film Company. The film is produced by Brian Grazer, Guadagnino, Jeb Brody and Allan Mandelbaum. Karen Lunder, Justin Wilkes, Alice Dawson and Nora Garrett executive produce.
