Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, starring longtime A-listers Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield alongside major rising star Ayo Edebiri of The Bear fame, has received an underwhelming initial Rotten Tomatoes score. After the Hunt follows Yale professor Alma Olsson (Roberts), who faces a professional crisis when her student Maggie Price (Edebiri) accuses colleague Hank Gidbson (Garfield) of Sєxual ᴀssault.

After the Hunt had its world premiere today (August 29) at the Venice International Film Festival, where it stirred debate concerning its depiction of events relevant to the #MeToo movement. Presently, After the Hunt has a 43% score on Rotten Tomatoes, aggregated from 14 critics’ reviews, making it a “rotten” movie.

While Damon Wise of ᴅᴇᴀᴅline Hollywood Daily says After the Hunt‘s “presentation of the modern campus as the Somme does strike a very timely chord,” Nikki Baughan of Screen International argues that its “inflated self-importance serves to not only overwhelm but also undermine its finer points.“ Likewise, IndieWire‘s Ryan Lattanzio says: “It strives for moral ambiguity, but ends up startlingly morally stark.“

Ultimately, this is not destined to be one of Luca Guadagnino’s best movies. In a broader but memorable statement, The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney says: “It seems almost implausible that the gifted filmmaker who just gave us the sizzling buoyancy of Challengers and the heady intoxication of Queer could deliver something so dour and airless.“

What This Means For After The Hunt

On multiple counts, After the Hunt is off to a rough start with its Venice world premiere. It has also been at the center of heated debate, and Julia Roberts was asked about the movie’s controversial handling of sensitive subject matter. Roberts defended After the Hunt, saying that the film’s primary objective is to start a conversation.

Whether After the Hunt properly addresses the real events that inspired it is evidently a major factor. Concerning elements such as its pacing and tone, in addition to After the Hunt being allegedly “dour and airless,” multiple reviewers call it “muddled,” which is especially worrying in the context of its two-hour and 18-minute runtime.

There are still reviews that sing the praises of the cast, as the psychological thriller and drama certainly challenged them all. Roberts is already an Oscar winner and Garfield a nominee, while Edebiri has won an Emmy, but any of them could still earn a nomination for a major award for After the Hunt despite criticisms of the movie overall.

Our Take On After The Hunt’s First Reviews

It’s already perceivable that After the Hunt is taking the shape of a contentious piece of media, though whether it will be looked back on in a largely positive or negative light remains to be seen. After the Hunt is set for theatrical release on October 10, and general moviegoers’ reactions will play a huge role in determining the movie’s ultimate status in the zeitgeist.

After the Hunt can likely still hold its own at the box office, given the existing fanbase of its main cast and the widespread praise of Roberts’ performance, affirming that it is worth going to see the actors. But the movie’s standing for the coming awards season is incredibly shaky now, as Guadagnino moves on to his next project.