In short:
The Hollywood star faced a heated press call at Venice Film Festival fielding questions over her latest film’s stance on #MeToo.
Critics say the film’s storyline, which treats a campus sexual assault allegation with ambiguity, could be perceived as a setback for women who speak up.
Roberts said the film aimed to spark conversation and said “[we are] losing the art of conversation in humanity right now”.
Julia Roberts has defended her new film’s positioning on #MeToo allegations and cancel culture, saying the film isn’t trying to be controversial but is aimed at “challenging people to have a conversation”.
In After The Hunt, Roberts stars as Yale professor Alma Olsson who struggles with her response after a dear friend and colleague is accused of sexual assault by one of her students.
The film from Luca Guadagnino stirred controversy at its Venice Film Festival premiere this week, with some festival-goers criticising the storyline for undermining female accusers.
The film’s press call on Friday was tense at times, with Roberts pushing back on journalists suggesting the film’s ambiguous handling of the topic was a set-back for women.
Roberts brushed off such questions, saying the film was aimed at creating conversation, and that society was “losing the art of conversation in humanity right now”.
“We’re not making statements, we are portraying these people in these moments of time,” she said.
“I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have conversation. To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you.”
The Hollywood star, one of the industry’s highest-paid, said she had enjoyed playing a conflicted character. She’s joined in the film by Ayo Edeberi, who plays the young female student who raises the allegations, and Andrew Garfield as the accused academic.
In the film, Ayo Edebiri plays the student character who Julia Roberts’ professor character struggles to believe. (Reuters: Yara Nardi)
Guadagnino, the Italian auteur behind hit films Challengers and Call Me By Your Name, told reporters the film was not about “making a manifesto to revive old-fashioned values” but more an observation on the clash of perspectives.
“It’s not that one truth is most important, it’s how we see the clash of truths and what is the boundary of these truths together,” he said.
He added that the film also aimed to explore greed and power in the rarefied setting of academia. After The Hunt is showing out of competition at Venice.
Guadagnino last presented at the festival in 2022, with Queer, a romantic period drama starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey.
ABC/Reuters