What does it mean to be accused? What does it mean to be believed? Do people ever get the consequences they deserve? These are a few questions that “After the Hunt,” released Oct. 10, tries and fails to answer.

The film centers around Alma Olsson (Julia Roberts), a philosophy professor at Yale, who is at a crossroads when her protégé Maggie Price (Ayo Edebiri), accuses Alma’s colleague and friend Henrik “Hank” Gibson (Andrew Garfield) of sexually assaulting her. Hank claims that while he did go to Maggie’s apartment, he only confronted her about plagiarizing her thesis, which led to an “utter fabrication.” Despite this premise clearly being a complex issue, the film does not delve deep enough into the subject matter enough to have it for it to mean something.

“After the Hunt” is directed by Luca Guadagnino, known for directing “Challengers” (2024), “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) and more. His direction is sharp, despite this easily being one of the weakest films in his filmography so far. This film marks Nora Garrett’s second film writing credit. While the script shows promise, the dialogue is too direct, the questions asked are never properly answered and the audience is left wondering whether they should have watched the film at all.

Roberts is a highlight of the film, her charisma and quiet sharp–wit saving the film from being one of the weakest of the year. Her character Alma is secretive and hushed, revealed to have a secret apartment where she lives a different life in peace. Through letters and a photograph found at the beginning of the film by Maggie, it is revealed in detail that Alma herself was abused by a man older than her when she was younger, despite her insisting that she “loved” and “forced” him to be with her. This revelation changes what the audience thought they knew about the character, regardless of it being easy to predict, and Maggie points out that she came to Alma for advice because of “her history.”

Garfield does his best with his character, despite not being given a character with depth and value. Edebiri, in spite of her best efforts, struggles with the poor writing her character is given. Michael Stuhlbarg is a standout in the film as Alma’s husband, Frederik, who lights up the screen with an easygoing and lively nature. Chloë Sevigny is another highlight as Dr. Kim Sayers, a therapist at Yale and Alma’s close friend, whose subtle anger and disappointment towards the main characters leave a memorable mark on the viewer’s experience.

The camerawork is one of the most confusing aspects of the film. The film attempts to utilize point-of-view shots for the three main characters, but uses them so often that they feel repetitive and lack provocative meaning. Zoom ins are also used to emphasize moments where characters are gaining perspective and learning new things about one another, despite the script not being descriptive enough for the audience to learn it as well.

Throughout the film, a loud ticking noise can be heard, silencing the rest of the film’s sound. While this is clearly supposed to mean something — a countdown, a way to increase stress for the viewer — if it were taken out of the film, nothing would be any different. The score, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (known to the public as the band Nine Inch Nails) is one of the most disappointing aspects of the film. While composed well, the score is never quite placed at the right moment, leaving the viewer confused as to why a loud piano piece is playing while Robert’s character calmly walks down the hallway.

The film does show promise occasionally, with sparks of intelligence appearing from time to time. For example, in the scene where Alma confronts Hank and he defends himself, he purposefully eats spicy food to make his eyes water and to appear more sympathetic. In the best written scene in the film, Hank and Alma blur the lines in their relationship and kiss, with Hank going too far, causing Alma to push him off and kick him out of her apartment. While it is never confirmed, it is implied that this is what happened to Maggie at the beginning of the film off-screen.

Despite having good performances and promising glimpses of potential, “After the Hunt” is one of the most perplexing and disappointing films of the year. By attempting to ask so many questions, the film does not give itself enough time to properly answer them, leaving the audience wanting something — anything — more.