Generational Conflicts Surround #MeToo in Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt

      Gen X icon Julia Roberts must confront Gen Z standards regarding sex and safety in the provocative trailer for After the Hunt, the latest film from director Luca Guadagnino.

      The trailer sets out to examine the complex perspectives of different generations on #MeToo, beginning with a scene where millennial actor Andrew Garfield’s character, Frederick, challenges the younger Maggie, portrayed by Gen Z star Ayo Edebiri.

      “All your generation does is worry about saying the wrong thing,” he laments. “When did offending someone become the worst sin?”

      “Maybe it was around the time your generation began making sweeping generalizations about ours?” she retorts.

      However, the conversation at the cocktail party takes a darker turn when Edebiri’s character approaches her mentor, Alma, played by Julia Roberts. It soon becomes clear that Alma does not regard Maggie's accusation with the seriousness that Maggie expects, causing tensions to rise.

      Frederick then presents a familiar argument—claiming that Maggie is merely using an accusation of misconduct as a tool to achieve her desires.

      “I caught Maggie cheating,” he informs Alma. “I suggested she might have plagiarized. And then the next day—complete fabrication.”

      We also discover that Alma harbors her own secrets.

      At one point, one of Alma’s colleagues, portrayed by another Gen X icon, Chloe Sevigny, makes a shocking statement that may resonate with Gen Xers and Baby Boomers who experienced harassment and worse before the #MeToo movement:

      “I believe her. But whatever happened to just burying everything like the rest of us?”

      The setup is both blunt and provocative, and audiences are likely to bring their own established views to it. The film aligns with Guadagnino's history of provocative work, including Call Me By Your Name and Challengers.

      The title of the film seems to present a challenge—does "the hunt" refer to a predator seeking victims? Or does it hint at claims from those caught up in #MeToo who feel they were subjected to a witch hunt?

      Notably, the trailer does not seem to take a definitive stance.

      The film was shot by cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed, who utilized 35mm film and is returning to feature films after a 25-year hiatus. He is known for his work on films such as Spike Lee’s Clockers (1995) and He Got Game (1998). The score is composed by the reliable duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

      Written by Nora Garrett, the film will debut in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on October 10 and will expand on October 17 via Amazon MGM Studios.

      Main image: Julia Roberts in After the Hunt. Amazon MGM Studios.