After The Hunt ending explained: Who tells the truth is for the audience to decide

The ending of After The Hunt does not take the usual route of straightaway discovering the 'verdict' or 'who's actually telling the truth'.

Throughout the story, the audience is left in a state of constant pursuit of truth. Perhaps this was the intention behind this conscious choice by the makers.

Helmed by Luca Guadagnino, this psychological thriller is set at Yale University, where a promising student named Maggie accuses one of her professors, Hank, of s*xual assault. Alma, one of Maggie's professors and Hank's colleague, is finding herself at a crucial point in this case. Alma herself carries a rough history that she has hidden all this time.

The synopsis for the film reads as follows, as per IMDb,

"A college professor finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues."

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for After The Hunt. Reader discretion is advised.

At the end of the film, it leaps five years. Maggie and Alma, who have shared a tumultuous exchange in the due course of the film, end up meeting at a restaurant. We realize the changes that take place in their respective lives. Maggie is now engaged to a woman named Nia, and Alma ends up becoming the dean of the university. They have some conversations at the restaurant as well, before Alma pays the restaurant bill and leaves.

Keep reading to find out everything about the ending of After The Hunt.

The ending of After The Hunt gives no definitive answers, but raises many questions

Throughout the whole course of After The Hunt, the audience is left guessing and wondering what the truth could be. The thing is, there could be many truths (or lies) sprinkled all over the film, and it is for the audience to decide for themselves.

In fact, in an interview with Gayle King at CBS Mornings, here is an excerpt of what Julia Roberts said about the film:

"I think there's so many things that go on in this movie, that the truths and untruths and half-truths and people pretending to be something that they're not and why."

There are instances in After The Hunt where Hank's problematic behavior can make the audience truly believe Maggie's confessions. But at the same time, Maggie, too, takes some actions that could indicate her having a scheming persona. And at the same time, Alma makes many questionable choices that wreck her own life.

In the film, it all happens after a party, when Hank takes a stroll with Maggie to her home. However, things go upside down in the lives of Maggie, Hank, and Alma after that night. Maggie confides in Alma that Hank, in her words, has "crossed the line."

Alma initially does not showcase a lot of kindness towards Maggie, and in the pursuit of finding the truth, meets up with Hank. There, Hank dismisses Maggie's confession outright and says that he caught Maggie plagiarizing.

Alma eventually supports Maggie, and Hank gets fired from Yale. At one point in After The Hunt, Hank even kisses Alma, who is actually married to Frederick. When Alma attempts to stop him, Hank reacts inappropriately. This showcases how much Hank is actually capable of doing the kind of abuse that Maggie has accused him of.

In the meantime, Alma, who is suffering from an addiction to pills, commits an act of theft when she slips a fellow professor, Kim's prescription sheet. She therefore finds her tenure to be terminated. Meanwhile, Maggie ends up digging for information about Alma's troubled past.

Some tensions arise between the two. Maggie is also shown to have feelings for Alma. They even have an ugly verbal spat where Alma denigrates Maggie, and she, in return, ends up slapping Alma. Things go even messier between the two when Maggie takes it to the media to expose the diabolism of Alma in an article by Rolling Stone.

Alma's health begins to crumble as she develops ulcers and is admitted to the hospital. There, she makes a confession to Frederick. She recalls an unfortunate incident from the time when she was a child. It was the time when she was involved with her father's close friend and colleague.

Alma and the person were in a 'relationship', and she admitted to having loved him at that time. However, when the person took a few steps back from their 'relationship', she could not handle the rejection well and ended up accusing him of s*xual abuse. Later, that man ends up dying by s*icide.

Years later, Alma, who is now filled with guilt, expresses remorse about her past choices. But Frederick comforts her by telling her that she was young, and it was her father's friend who should have taken matters into his own hands in the first place by not getting himself involved in a relationship with a minor.

After The Hunt, then leaps five years into the future. Maggie and Alma end up meeting each other at the restaurant. Within this gap of five years, both of them get some time and space to reflect and process those events as well as their feelings. We learn that Alma is now the dean of the university, and Maggie is engaged to Nia. We also know Hank's whereabouts, where he is working as a political PR person.

Alma apologises to Maggie, and Maggie, too, tells her how chaotic she felt back then and did not know what she wanted. We also know that Alma even published a counter article to share her side of the story.

Before making her exit, Maggie tells Alma:

“You did it, you won.”

Alma then clears her restaurant bill of $20 and leaves as well.

And then comes the compelling ending. Director Luca Guadagnino breaks the fourth wall after this scene by literally uttering "Cut!". This is where After The Hunt ends.