Julia Roberts responds to #MeToo buzz around new thriller role

Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts has broken her silence on Luca Guadagnino’s new film After the Hunt, which has sparked questions about addressing #MeToo-related themes.

The film follows a university professor (Roberts) whose star student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses a friend and colleague (Andrew Garfield) of sexual assault.

At the Venice Film Festival press conference, per Variety, Roberts brushed off an early question suggesting that After the Hunt undermines feminism. The reporter pressed her on the film’s controversy and its revival of debates surrounding how women’s assault accusations are handled.

Roberts highlighted that the movie is meant to provoke thought and conversation rather than make definitive statements, noting: “We are losing the art of conversation in humanity right now.”

“Not to be disagreeable, because it's not in my nature, but the thing you said that I love is it ‘revives old arguments.’ I don’t think it’s just reviving an argument of women being pitted against each other or not supporting each other. There are a lot of old arguments that get rejuvenated that create conversation,” Variety quoted Roberts as saying.

The Oscar-winner emphasised that the movie is “not making statements” but “portraying these people in this moment in time.”

“I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have conversation,” she added. “To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you. If making this movie does anything, getting everybody to talk to each other is the most exciting thing that I think we could accomplish.”

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