For Lío Mehiel, Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt isn’t just another campus psychodrama. It’s a film that forces audiences to sit with their own discomfort while also offering a quiet but powerful moment of trans visibility.
“Well, I think this film really provokes us to think about what are our biases that we’re bringing to the table, and also what are the coping mechanisms that we have for living in a society that doesn’t really give us room to care for ourselves, to honor our own humanity or the humanity of others because we’re too busy trying to achieve, make a living survive,” Mehiel told Gayety.
“Her pain has become untenable. And that to me is really provocative and interesting because I hope that audiences take a step back and wonder, ‘okay, what are the things that I’ve been doing that don’t work for me anymore?’”
That moral ambiguity drives the story of Alma (Julia Roberts), a Yale professor on the cusp of tenure, her close colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield), and their star student Maggie (Ayo Edebiri). However, everything changes one night when Maggie confides in Alma about her encounter with Hank, in which he “crossed the line.” She decides to report the assault to the school, leaving Alma torn between the two people closest to her.
Mehiel plays Alex, Maggie’s nonbinary partner, who seems to see right through Maggie’s obsession with Alma. Nevertheless, they continue to support their partner and her decisions to speak her truth, no matter how difficult it is.
During the Los Angeles premiere, we spoke with Mehiel about the scene that resonated deeply with queer viewers.
“After the New York Film Festival premiere, I had a lot of messages from people saying how meaningful it was to see a trans mass character with gender affirming top surgery shirtless on screen without any conversation about it,” Mehiel said. “And that was really cool to know that I can be a part of something that is meaningful for people and makes them feel a little more seen.”
“Not everything is supposed to make you comfortable”
The tagline of the film, captures the film’s overall intent. Screenwriter Nora Garrett said that the line was always at the front of the script, and hopes audiences come away from the film ready for some tough discussions.
“I think it is probably going to make people frustrated,” she explained. “But my hope is always that it engenders people to learn something about themselves and have conversations with other people about that. Hopefully there’s more empathy and compassion than combativeness.”
Roberts echoed that sentiment at the Academy Museum premiere.
“If this movie does anything, I hope that it creates conversation among you and I hope it creates space for not just talking, but listening.”
After the Hunt will have a limited release on October 10.
