Luca, Luca, Luca…..

I’ve sat on this movie for almost three weeks now, so let’s see what thoughts I can get out.

I never know if I should explain a movie in my reviews because if you’re reading this, I assume you know who’s in it, who made it, and what it’s about. Anywho, After the Hunt stars Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri. It is directed by Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Suspiria, Call Me by Your Name). In typical nature, Luca directs a world filled with life-like relationships but somehow still handles things in the most Hollywood of ways. This film sees a college professor at odds with multiple close relationships amidst a dark accusation.

The truth of the matter is, this movie has a lot to unpack when it really shouldn’t. The seriousness of the situations are heightened by their nature and then completely forgotten about by dinner. No evidence is revealed, truth is left in the shadows, and performance optics are more the focus than the substance. Trying to say a whole lot is great, but only when it leads to anything of note. Just because topics are important, doesn’t mean they make for anything thoughtful.

The conversations between characters are oozing desperation. Every single performance felt disconnected from the other actors and the audience. They certainly paint a picture with their performances and words, but it drones on and on until it ends. Intimate shots of characters’ hands were supposed to portray what exactly? I’m not sure, but this could be the start of wikiHands. Once it pulls back from their digits, we get pretty well off performances that work better as a singularity. It does suck when Ayo is used as a baby instead of someone with a naive innocence, while Garner and Garfield give it their all without giving something that will last. The only stand out fragment of this film is Michael Stuhlbarg’s on screen fallout where he is saying everything I wanted to say to these fictional characters.

I am sorry if this “review” is all over the place and couldn’t hone in for more than a sentence or two, I’m just basing my writing on how this movie was handled. Certain aspects of this are alarming and instead of feeling intimate feelings towards them, I was mostly unfazed. Luca makes a movie with some superb faces, but it felt like I was in a classroom with a great teacher and still couldn’t wait for the school day to end.

Tick Tock

4.2/10