After the Hunt puts an ethics professor between a student and a colleague as one accuses the other of rape. Foul language, LGBT characters, more stories about rape and suicide all pepper this convoluted plot that seemingly tries (and fails) to teach a lesson about virtue signaling.
Keeping secrets is never a good idea. It can lead to dishonesty, distrust, distracting and debilitating stomach ulcers …
Alma’s been down this path before. But besides knowing the consequences of secret-keeping firsthand, she’s also a professor of ethics and philosophy at Yale University. She spends her days teaching students about the morality of our choices—including keeping secrets locked away.
Students just like Maggie.
When Maggie comes to Alma with a secret of her own, she gets (understandably) upset when Alma doesn’t respond the way she hopes. After all, Maggie just shared something intimate and private. Shouldn’t Alma be sympathetic? Shouldn’t Alma support her? Shouldn’t Alma care?
Instead, Alma suggests that Maggie should keep this secret to herself. She insists that nobody will ever take Maggie seriously on a professional level if she reveals it to the world.
Unfortunately—or perhaps, ironically—keeping Maggie’s secret proves to be a worse idea than Alma could have imagined. It leads to dishonesty, distrust … and distracting, debilitating stomach ulcers.
[Note: The following sections may contain spoilers.]
Alma’s husband, Frederik, is incredibly supportive and caring. Even when he knows that his wife is lying to him, he remains steadfast and loyal.
Although much of this film focuses on people getting increasingly angry and disappointed with one another, many seem to reconcile their differences with time.
Many of the philosophical principles taught by Alma and rambled off by her students suggest that morality is subjective or fluid. These principles sometimes contradict biblical teachings. And they imply that humans, not God, are the ultimate judge of what’s right or wrong.
Alma and Frederik kiss a few times. Alma comes home one night to find Frederik asleep, pornography playing on his laptop (which we see from a slightly blurred distance). Alma closes the laptop and gets into bed with her husband, snuggling him.
The next morning, Frederik tries to get intimate with his wife, but she rejects his advances, and it’s revealed they haven’t had sex in several months. We later learn that while Alma has never cheated on Frederik, she has had romantic feelings for other men. And Frederik notes that Alma tends to mentor people who “adore” her, such as Maggie and Hank.
Hank is a fellow Yale professor and former student of Alma’s. He flirts with his students and colleagues, but he’s particularly close to Alma, getting drinks with her after work and frequently kissing her on the cheeks or forehead. Other students and teachers exchange seemingly platonic kisses as well. We see someone’s underthings hanging to dry in a linen closet.
Maggie is gay and dating Alex, who identifies as “they” and is transitioning into a man. (We see scars on Alex’s chest from a double mastectomy.) The couple lives together. They kiss and snuggle together. Alma is condescending to Alex for using different pronouns, and she even accuses Maggie of using Alex’s gender identity to make herself look more interesting. Elsewhere, we hear that two women are engaged. It’s suggested, though not entirely confirmed, that Maggie has feelings for Alma.
Alma has an old apartment that she keeps as a sort of writer’s retreat. She’s shocked to find Hank sleeping there one afternoon, wearing boxers and an unbuttoned shirt. She hands him his pants to cover himself, but he doesn’t. Instead, he reveals that he used to be in love with her—that he still is, in fact. And though Alma refuses to admit it, it seems she may have had feelings for Hank in the past as well, though she never acted on them.
But the two choose to act now. The two kiss passionately for a few moments …
… until Alma tells Hank to stop and tries to push him off. Hank refuses, continuing to kiss Alma until she’s practically flailing to get him off of her.
Unfortunately, this might not have been Hank’s first offense.
As it turns out, Maggie’s secret was that Hank had assaulted her. She never can get the words out, saying only that Hank kissed her and continued to kiss her even though she told him no. She eventually manages to choke out, “He crossed a line,” but that’s all she’ll say directly.
The whole affair becomes a “he said, she said” debacle as Hank (a professor) insists that Maggie (a student) is lying and trying to discredit him because he accused her of plagiarism.
Alma is caught in the middle, since both confide in her, and each hopes that she’ll testify in his or her favor. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence to prove either Maggie or Hank’s claims. And the constant back-and-forth causes Alma to develop stomach ulcers. The ulcers cause her immense pain, she vomits several times as a result, and she’s eventually hospitalized as a result.
Maggie says she didn’t get tested for rape following the assault because she was scared of some threatening-looking men standing outside the clinic. When Hank is eventually fired (due to Maggie’s allegations against him), he becomes aggressive, grabbing Alma in anger before screaming at her, slamming several doors, ripping notices off a wall and kicking over a trash bin. Elsewhere, he punches a wall, injuring his hand.
Someone slaps a woman across the face and grabs her by the hair.
Unexpectedly, Alma refuses to speak for either Hank or Maggie. Her own history with sexual assault makes it impossible for her to remain impartial: When she was 15, she became sexually involved with her father’s best friend. When he ended things, she accused him of rape. She eventually recanted her story, since she was still had feelings for him. However, the man took his own life. And Alma blames herself for that. She refuses to accept that their affair was, in fact, sexual assault, since he was an adult and she was only a child.
Nearly 60 uses of the f-word and 15 uses of the s-word. We also hear the c-word, “a–hole,” “b–ch,” “d–n” and “p-ss.” God’s name is misused (twice paired with “d–n”), and Jesus’ name is also abused five times.
Characters drink and smoke cigarettes throughout the film. Indeed, it’s rare to see a scene without these elements. And Alma illegally consumes a controlled substance after stealing a prescription pad.
We hear a lot about morality and ethics throughout this film—mostly because that’s Alma’s job. But wrapped up in these debates are conversations about sexism, racism and even ageism—particularly as they apply to whether or not students and professors have actually earned their accolades.
Virtue signaling (displaying an awareness of or attentiveness to a culturally popular cause without taking any effective action) is another popular theme here—even if it’s never stated outright. Many are accused of this as they side with either Maggie or Hank.
Alma, we know, lies repeatedly. She hides a picture of another man from her husband. And she’s cold to people who thought they could trust her—namely Maggie and Hank. Maggie violates Alma’s privacy and later tries to justify it. Professors complain that their students are entitled.
We never learn whether Maggie or Hank is lying.
After the Hunt feels like an Oscar-bait film meant to incite the masses. Featuring standout performances by an all-star cast creates a certain amount of very believable drama. But poor writing and a confusing plot leave audiences in the lurch as they try to figure out what message the director was trying to convey.
It doesn’t seem to matter if viewers believe Maggie or Hank. It doesn’t matter if they think Alma was right to stay out of it. After the Hunt seems to only provide a catalyst for division and debate. Which, ironically, is sort of the point of the classes Alma is teaching. Are people really beholden to some unspoken laws of morality? Do they really care about the people and causes they claim to care about? Or are they simply virtue signaling?
Harsh profanities, LGBT characters, one rape allegation—which we never learn the truth of—and one rape confirmation (against a 15-year-old girl) all add even more discord to this already chaotic story. But no Academy Award rumors will make After the Hunt worthy of this two-plus hour time bomb.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
