Andrew Garfield, left, and Julia Roberts in a scene from "After the Hunt."
Ayo Edebiri, left, Julia Roberts and director Luca Guadagnino on the set of "After the Hunt."

NEW YORK — Julia Roberts' latest film dares to ask the uncomfortable questions.

In "After the Hunt," the A-lister plays a Yale philosophy professor named Alma Imhoff, whose close colleague, Hank (Andrew Garfield), is accused of sexual assault by star grad student Maggie (Ayo Edebiri). Alma is torn between her loyalty to Hank and believing Maggie, all while her own dark secrets threaten to bubble to the surface.

She unravels, mentally and physically, over the course of the drama, which tackles hot-button issues of accountability, privilege, political correctness and cancel culture.

"So early to talk about a movie like this!" Roberts joked during a mid-morning Q&A at the New York Film Festival Sept. 26, where "After the Hunt" is the opening night selection.

"Everything that is natural to Alma is unnatural to me as a human, so it was interesting trying to find ways into that," Roberts said. "I was able to internally articulate it for myself in finding the inroads with each of the characters with my castmates. … But it was complicated. It was tricky material for sure."

Roberts, 57, mostly took a backseat as the project's cast and creative team fielded questions from reporters. Edebiri and Garfield each spoke at length about whether their characters are "likable," and if the actors ever discussed what "really" happened between Maggie and Hank.

"Don't you want Andrew to be your therapist?" Roberts marveled lightheartedly. "Because he's my therapist and I feel great."

Later, she wryly deflected a question about ethics and morality to director Luca Guadagnino. ("You answer," Roberts told him. "You're the smartest!")

Guadagnino gently brushed off the label of "provocateur," saying that he doesn't "like to scandalize for the sake of it. I think that's childish. … Do I like to make a movie that makes the audience feel (and) think? I do, very much."

Julia Roberts movie 'After the Hunt': Release date comes after mixed reviews

"After the Hunt" premiered in August at the Venice Film Festival, where it sharply divided critics with 49% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie opens in limited release on Oct. 10, before expanding to theaters nationwide Oct. 17.

The thorny film is Roberts' first potential awards bid since 2018 addiction drama "Ben is Back." The megawatt Oscar winner most recently found success with Netflix's much-streamed "Leave the World Behind" in 2023 and box-office hit "Ticket to Paradise" in 2022, which marked her return to rom-coms and a reunion with George Clooney.

Guadagnino, meanwhile, has had a fruitful recent output that includes last year's steamy tennis film "Challengers" starring Zendaya and the mesmeric character study "Queer" with Daniel Craig.

New York Film Festival schedule: NYFF lineup 2025

New York Film Festival runs through Oct. 13, with high-profile screenings including Bruce Springsteen drama “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” Daniel Day-Lewis’ comeback vehicle “Anemone,” and the world premiere of Bradley Cooper’s latest directorial outing, “Is This Thing On?”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julia Roberts dishes on her 'tricky' new role in cancel-culture drama 'After the Hunt'

Reporting by Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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