Julia Roberts plays against her usual big-smile persona as a college professor with issues. Things get worse when her good friend, fellow teacher (Andrew Garflield) is accused of impropriety by a promising student (Ayo Edebiri). Being that this is set at Yale and they’re in the philosophy department, you can expect occasional theoretical discussions, including a debate about the expectations of today’s youth culture. Otherwise, director Luca Guadagnino’s assured hand allows the cast to create exceptional performances (and Chloë Sevigny gets a funky wig for her small part). On the other hand, the intellectual banter and sometimes rambling story dilutes the potential to make this as effective as it could have been. Instead, we have an earnest examination of ethics that makes this more an intellectual exercise than a riveting drama. NOTE: In an interesting homage to Woody Allen, the credits are black and white in his font style, because Guadagnino wanted to evoke the aesthetic of classic New York films while acknowledging the controversy surrounding Allen. 
(3 / 5)
