Spoilers ahead. After The Hunt is a perfect Oscar-bait film. Filled with hefty dialogue, emotional scenes and topical questions, Luca Guadagnino draws out incredible performances from Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield. The drama follows Yale University professor Alma Imhoff (Roberts), who is caught in the middle when her student protégée, Maggie Resnick (Edebiri) accuses Alma’s friend and colleague, Hank Gibson (Garfield) of sexual assault. For over two and a half hours, After The Hunt is unrelenting, making audiences feel increasingly uncomfortable with its blurred lines and unanswered questions. There’s no comic relief or light moments to take you away from the tough topics, which makes Guadagnino’s piece stick with you long after the credits have finished rolling.
Roberts and Garfield’s characters have a will-they, won’t-they style relationship throughout the film, with Hank making it clear that he adores Alma. While Alma is married to Frederik Imhoff (Michael Stuhlbarg), the pair eventually break into a round of passionate kissing near the end of the film. It’s raw and hard to watch, with Alma changing her mind halfway through and having to yell at Hank to stop and push him off her.
When Refinery29 Australia spoke to Roberts about After The Hunt, she surprised us by revealing the actors had decided not to use an Intimacy Coordinator for this scene. There was no nudity involved, which may have contributed to the decision. “They asked us if we wanted [an Intimacy Coordinator], I said no, Andrew said no,” Roberts explains. “Andrew and Luca and I had a lot of conversations, we had a lot of rehearsal that morning, and then Andrew and I, when we were back at the dorms where we get ready, he came to me and was like, you know, ‘Is there anything you are not comfortable with?’ And I said, ‘Between the two of us, I am completely at ease’.”
Guadagnino is famous for preferring fewer takes when it comes to making films, so Roberts and Garfield only shot one take of the scene. “All this conversation, and then it was like 35 seconds and then over. It was crazy,” Roberts adds.
[Andrew] came to me and was like, you know, ‘Is there anything you are not comfortable with?’ And I said, ‘Between the two of us, I am completely at ease’.
Julia Roberts on her Intimate Scene with Andrew Garfield
The role of an Intimacy Coordinator was popularised in 2018, after the #MeToo movement took hold, and it focuses on keeping actors, directors and sometimes crew safer when it comes to intimate scenes. “An Intimacy Coordinator position interrupts the production power dynamics and provides a confidential space for actors, directors and producers to discuss concerns and potential barriers to consent,” Michela Carattini, SAG-AFTRA-accredited IC Trainer and Company Director of Key Intimate Scenes tells R29. “An intimacy coordinator provides risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies to support the actors, the director, the production, and in some cases, the crew. ‘Intimate scenes’ can vary in definition, but universally include scenes with simulated sexual activity (including sexual assault) and/or nudity.”
Carattini notes that in Australia, while it’s recommended to use an Intimacy Coordinator when there are intimate scenes, it’s not currently mandated. However, due to Screen Safe Australia adopting Australia’s National Intimacy Guidelines into Work, Health and Safety mandates, productions are left open to “negligence or duty of care claims” if anything goes wrong.
In terms of Garfield and Roberts’ decision to forgo using an Intimacy Coordinator on After The Hunt, Carattini says this can be “perfectly valid” depending on the circumstance. “The decision not to use an intimacy coordinator has to be made by the production, the director and all the actors involved in the intimate scene together, in terms of whether they are all willing to take steps to minimise risks. It is comparable to a decision not to use a stunt coordinator for a scene involving stunts,” she explains. “It is important to remember that the purpose of an Intimacy Coordinator’s work is to support consent, empowerment and safety. If those things have truly been supported for everyone involved, it is perfectly valid not to use an Intimacy Coordinator — although I grant it would be much harder for those without expertise to assess this accurately.”
It is important to remember that the purpose of an Intimacy Coordinator’s work is to support consent, empowerment and safety. If those things have truly been supported for everyone involved, it is perfectly valid not to use an Intimacy Coordinator.
Michela CarattinI, SAG-AFTRA-accredited IC Trainer
Some viewers may also wonder why you would consider an Intimacy Coordinator for a kissing scene without nudity or simulated sex, but Carattini says the question should always be asked. “Whether or not to use an Intimacy Coordinator for a kissing scene only is an open question, and very much depends on the director’s vision and the individuals involved. Each actor brings their individual history and lived experience, possibly including trauma, to their roles and with their bodies,” she tells us. “For some, kissing is less psychologically safe than simulated sex, and from a physical safety perspective, bodily fluids are being exchanged — which they are not for simulated sex without mouth to mouth kissing.”
On a film which broaches the heavy topic of sexual assault, it’s important that After The Hunt producers offered Roberts and Garfield the chance to work with an Intimacy Coordinator should they require it. The more normalised the position becomes, the more protected those who feel vulnerable or unable to speak up will be.
After The Hunt is in theaters Friday, October 17.
This story was originally published on Refinery29’s Australian edition.
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