Based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel of the same name, Leave the World Behind, directed by Sam Esmail (creator of Mr. Robot), is an apocalyptic psychological thriller that manages to hold your attention for the most part but lets you down with its conclusion.
The film begins with Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) waking up in the morning and informing her husband, Clay (Ethan Hawke), that she has planned a family vacation. As a result, the couple, accompanied by their two children, Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie), embark on a family getaway to a luxurious rental home on Long Island. Upon arrival, odd occurrences begin, such as the internet and television going out of service and a massive oil tanker running ashore while the family is relaxing on the beach. Later that evening, while Clay and Amanda are sipping wine and the children are asleep, two African Americans, George Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth Scott (Myha’la), show up at the doorstep and claim to be the owners of the rental house, explaining that they had to reroute to Long Island due to a blackout in Manhattan, where their primary residence is situated. They want to spend the night at the house, but Amanda is uncomfortable in their presence since she doesn’t believe their story, causing the tension between them to rise. At the same time, an increasingly strange series of events unfold around them, to the point that things take an ominous turn, and they face the challenge of survival.
Even though the film clocks in at nearly 140 minutes, the screenplay by Sam Esmail is captivating for the bulk of its runtime and will keep you riveted to the screen due to the genuinely surprising twists and turns. When George and Ruth show up unexpectedly at night, the film gives the impression of a break-in thriller (like Don’t Breathe (2016) and Hush (2016)). Sam Esmail’s clever writing skillfully creates intriguing situations that leave audiences unsure whether to trust George and Ruth’s story, thereby casting doubt on their identity and motivations. For instance, George’s explanation about a Manhattan blackout and his weak knees being the main reason they came to the house seems hard to believe, but on the other hand, he has the key to the liquor cabinet and knows his way around the place. Furthermore, escalating racial tensions between Amanda and the Scotts heighten the drama and benefit the story, where the former comes across as racist – an allegation that is not made explicitly by the film but implied. By the time the mystery around Scott’s identity is solved and you realize this isn’t a break-in thriller, Esmail ups the bizarre quotient and depicts some strange incidents occurring around the characters. Some examples include the scene where a drone drops leaflets reading “Death to America” in Arabic on Clay’s way to town and the one where the Sanfords decide to drive through the city on the Expressway, only to find the highway blocked by self-driving Teslas that collide with each other. An impression of the film’s central theme—the negative consequences of human beings’ over-reliance on technology—begins to form by the conclusion of the second act.
With the commencement of the third act, the film endeavors to expand its scope and become more ambitious. However, the decision ultimately proves detrimental to the film as it loses momentum and results in an unsatisfactory outcome. As a result, despite establishing the gravity of the situation, the makers fail to present it with the same intensity, and since the stakes aren’t sufficiently high, it detracts from the story’s ability to captivate viewers. Because of this, Sam Esmail’s point about how a divided America would lead to its ultimate obliteration isn’t as impactful as it should be.
The film’s technical aspects are top-notch and expertly crafted. Tod Campbell’s breathtaking widescreen cinematography evokes Max Ophlus’s work with its fluid and smooth camera movements; weird camera angles add to the film’s eerie atmosphere; and Mac Quayle’s outstanding score heightens the tension in certain scenes. Every character is well-developed and acted out, but the standouts include Julia Roberts as the hypocritical and cynical misanthropic woman, Amanda, and Mahershala Ali as the irresistibly debonair and sympathetic George Scott.
Leave the world behind is streaming on Netflix
Leave the World Behind movie links: IMDB, Letterboxd
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