Did Hank assault Maggie in After the Hunt?

After the Hunt, released in limited theatres on October 10, 2025 before expanding nationwide on October 17, is a psychological thriller directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name) and written by newcomer Nora Garrett. 

It stars Julia Roberts as Alma Imhoff, a Yale philosophy professor fighting for tenure; Andrew Garfield as Hank Gibson, her charming but reckless colleague; and Ayo Edebiri as Maggie Resnick, Alma’s brilliant PhD student. Michael Stuhlbarg plays Alma’s husband Frederik, and Chloë Sevigny appears as Dr Kim Sayers, another faculty member.

The story starts at a department party. Maggie later tells Alma that Hank sexually assaulted her after following her home. Hank denies it completely, saying Maggie made it up because he caught her plagiarizing. Fans are asking the question - Did Hank assault Maggie? The film never shows the incident and never confirms who is telling the truth. 

Guadagnino keeps the assault deliberately ambiguous, forcing viewers to decide for themselves in a story about power, belief and institutional failure. 

After the Hunt: What really happened between Hank and Maggie?

The film opens with Alma navigating Yale's cutthroat philosophy department. She mentors Maggie, a talented Black PhD student from a privileged background, who idolizes her. Hank, Alma's longtime friend and fellow professor, is the department's golden boy - witty and flirtatious. 

At a boozy welcome party for new faculty, Hank and Maggie chat philosophy over drinks. Later that night, Hank shows up at Maggie's off-campus apartment uninvited, claiming he needs to discuss her work.

The assault happens off-screen. Maggie describes it clearly to Alma the next morning: Hank invited himself in and ignored her no. He then allegedly forced himself on her. Maggie stayed calm but shaken, emphasizing how his charm turned predatory. Alma, shocked at first, promises to support her but hesitates to report it right away, citing her friendship with Hank.

Hank’s version is the opposite. Confronted by Alma, he says Maggie came onto him aggressively then threatened a false accusation when he spotted plagiarized sections in her dissertation draft, ideas lifted from his own unpublished notes. He calls her ambitious and manipulative, using the claim to sabotage him for a better advisor slot.

No evidence is ever presented on either side. The university launches a Title IX probe but drags its feet amid faculty politics. Hank gets suspended with pay, freeing him to lobby colleagues against Maggie. 

Protests erupt on campus: students rally for Maggie, accusing Alma of protecting a white male professor over her Black female student. Alma's tenure bid stalls as colleagues whisper about her bias. Maggie faces online harassment and her academic record is scrutinized for any flaw.

Maggie withdraws the formal complaint after weeks of hearings, exhausted by the emotional toll and lack of closure. She tells Alma it's not worth destroying her future. Hank quietly resigns but sues the university for defamation, settling out of court.

Later, in a raw scene, Hank tries to kiss Alma against her will when she’s drunk at a bar, showing he crosses lines easily. It’s the closest the film comes to evidence of his behavior, but it still proves nothing about that night with Maggie. 

Guadagnino told Entertainment Weekly - 

"For me, the answer is always in the eyes of the audience. How can I let an audience find their own footing on something if I preemptively decide what's the truth of things?"

Andrew Garfield added -

"What's really very interesting to play, I think for all of us, is where our characters were hiding the truth from ourselves, and where we can't see our own backside in a way”

Five years later, Alma is dean, Hank works in politics and Maggie is engaged but distant. Their final dinner scene ends with no answers — just quiet resentment and a $20 bill left on the table. The director then yells “cut” on screen, reminding us this is a constructed story with no obligation to resolve.

After the Hunt is now playing in theatres and will be available to stream on Prime Video from November 20.

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