In recent years, director Luca Guadagnino has become known for crafting erotic dramas filled with complex interpersonal conflicts and sexual tension, as evident in movies such as “Challengers.” Unfortunately, “After the Hunt” diverges from this trend. It is an academic drama centered on campus assault allegations that feels dull, verbose, disorganized, and occasionally regressive in its politics. This film is a difficult watch that squanders the abilities of its stars on unlikeable characters in perplexing situations, seldom approaching a coherent narrative with any semblance of skill.

Alma Olsson (Julia Roberts) embodies the ideal life of an academic intellectual, teaching philosophy at Yale with the promise of tenure on the horizon, and is married to a supportive husband (Michael Stuhlbarg) who takes on most of the responsibilities at home. She also entertains a flirtatious relationship with her close colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield) and has a graduate student, Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), who idolizes her. However, this seemingly perfect existence crumbles when Maggie confesses to Alma that Hank sexually assaulted her after escorting her home from a party. This revelation creates chaos on campus and compels Alma to face buried secrets from her past.

In “After the Hunt,” the challenge lies in finding a single character who is not objectionable. Most characters come across as detestable, with actions and motivations difficult to fathom. Despite their potential, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny are underutilized in the film. In an early scene, they engage in a quiet, ordinary conversation while Alma and Hank dominate the party, sparking a desire to follow their characters instead. The audience is instead left entangled in a largely uninteresting drama.

Alma, as the central character, is surrounded by individuals who revolve around her both factually and in her perception. Her husband adores her, although she seems to view him with affection rather than love or passion. Hank regards her not just as a casual fling but as an intellectually stimulating equal. The relationship with Maggie is one of the most intricate, as Alma suggests Maggie is in love with her. Maggie shadows Alma, emulating her in many aspects, setting the stage for the psychosexual elements characteristic of a Luca Guadagnino film, albeit underdeveloped here.

“After the Hunt” exudes an air of self-importance that it doesn’t quite earn. While it touches upon sexual politics, Me Too commentary, and critiques the younger generation’s sensitivity, these themes might have resonated a decade ago. Today, they feel outdated and fail to engage viewers who have seen similar discussions exhaustively debated over the years.

Stories exploring the complex relationships between faculty and graduate students are not groundbreaking, and “After the Hunt” lacks the ingenuity to make it stand out. The characters fail to resonate or evoke care from the audience, and the more details disclosed, the less compelling they become. There is a feeling of complacency in both the character portrayals and their interactions, as if Luca Guadagnino assumed the film could succeed based on performances alone. While Julia Roberts adeptly portrays the academic professional, Andrew Garfield infuses his role with charm to support the narrative’s tension, and Ayo Edebiri capitalizes on her enigmatic, albeit underdeveloped, character, these performances fall short of offsetting the script’s significant flaws.

So all things considered, it’s difficult to regard “After the Hunt” as anything other than a disappointment and a waste of talent. Whether it’s the result of a script that needed a few more passes before being ready to actually be filmed, or Guadagnino just going through the motions, we can’t say. But Guadagnino’s output has been fast and furious over the past few years — maybe this is a case of an indisputably talented director with a gifted cast who simply needs to slow down and show his work?

“After the Hunt” made its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 26, and hits theaters on October 10.