3 Minutes
Glamour, Gravitas and a Packed Alice Tully Hall
Luca Guadagnino brought sparkle and narrative gravity to the 63rd New York Film Festival opening night with the North American premiere of After the Hunt. The director—known for the sensual intimacy of Call Me By Your Name and the bold reimagining of Suspiria—arrived in a glittering jacket to introduce a drama that pairs Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri in a tense story set inside an elite academic world.
Roberts plays a Yale philosophy professor whose life is disrupted when a student (Edebiri) accuses her close friend and colleague (Garfield) of sexual harassment. The film leans into moral ambiguity and the unseen forces that drive relationships—territory Guadagnino has explored before, but here with a sharper institutional edge and a contemporary #MeToo resonance.
Onstage Chemistry and Behind-the-Scenes Notes
The cast chemistry was obvious in the post-screening Q&A. Roberts described the script as a “Herculean idea” and said she felt confident signing on once Guadagnino was attached. Edebiri praised an unusually thorough rehearsal period, while Garfield recalled an intense single-take confrontation scene with Roberts—an anecdote that underscored the veteran actors’ trust and the production’s rehearsal-driven approach. Michael Stuhlbarg, who appears in the film, missed rehearsals while in New York for a Tony nomination, a small behind-the-scenes footnote that delighted festivalgoers.
How After the Hunt Fits the Director and Cast
For Guadagnino, After the Hunt continues his interest in interior lives and aesthetic lushness while pushing into institutional critique. Compared with his romantic work, this film feels colder and more judicial—closer in tone to courtroom dramas that probe ethics than to his earlier romantic tragedies. Roberts, long associated with warm, charismatic roles from Pretty Woman to Erin Brockovich, leans into a more cerebral, morally fraught performance. Garfield, with his theatre background and recent acclaimed film roles, brings tangled emotionality; Edebiri cements her ascent from comedy and TV (The Bear) into high-profile dramatic terrain.
Festival partner Rolex hosted intimate dinners and an afterparty at Tavern on the Green, highlighting the luxury brand’s ongoing cultural support. The NYFF’s opening-night choices—prestige director, A-list cast, topical subject—underscore how festivals still set the tone for awards-season conversation and streaming acquisition interest.
A few Maison-level tidbits: Guadagnino said casting Roberts was “instant,” and many attendees later migrated to the celebratory afterparty—proof that, for New York’s film crowd, a festival premiere is part screening and part social ritual.
After the Hunt arrives at a moment when audiences and critics are hungry for films that interrogate power and accountability. Guadagnino’s stylistic touch and the trio of leads make this a must-watch conversation starter rather than a simple red-carpet showcase.
Source: hollywoodreporter
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