Leave the World Behind

Starring: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la Herrold, Kevin Bacon, Charlie Evans, Farrah Mackenzie

Director: Sam Esmail

Based on the novel "Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam

Amanda and Clay Sandford (Roberts and Hawke) are looking to escape the world so they rent a house for a quiet getaway with their two kids Archie and Rose (Evans and Mackenzie). After a trip to the beach is disrupted by a large tanker crashing ashore, they are visited by G.H. (Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Herrold). It's their house the Sandfords are renting and they have returned thanks to their own vacation being cut short by a massive blackout. While Clay is happy to accomodate and let them stay, Amanda is very cautious and doesn't trust them. Despite the mistrust between the two families, they soon discover the cause of the blackout and must put aside their prejudices and rely on each other to survive.

Wow, so this is going to be an interesting one to review. There is a lot going on in this movie, which I will do my best to not spoil, and it doesn't work as a coherent whole as often as it thinks it does. Shortcomings aside, I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I should have.

First and foremost, this is a doomsday satire, a genre Netflix has really gotten into the business of these past few years with 2021's Don't Look Up and 2022's White Noise. While it would be easy to lump this film in with something like this year's Knock at the Cabin due to its more serious tone, this film is more about humanity's role in bringing about our own downfall rather than two people deciding the fate for the entrety of humanity.

The movie thinks it is more profound than it actually is, with the conclusions and some of the character arcs coming off as incredibly simplistic. Julia Roberts appears to be relishing playing a darker and more unlikable character than we are used to her playing, with Amanda's dislike of people mixed with a tinge of racism. Instead of her feelings changing organically over the course of the film, Amanda gets two separate scenes with both Ali and with Herrold where she suddenly changes her feelings towards them. It's scenes like these that stretch the length of the film and give in to director Esmail's worst storytelling instincts. The movie is much more interesting when it's investigating what's actually going on, so when it drifts too far away from that it becomes unfocused and slows down too much.

That being said the actors are all fantastic in the movie, especially Roberts with her previously mentioned uncharacteristic role. Because of the strong cast Esmail has assembled here, its obvious why he decides to give the actors a lot of scenes together, despite the world-ending circumstances around them being much more interesting. As much as I enjoy a good character study, where this movie thrives is when it dives into what is happening outside of the characters bubble. I also wish we had gotten more scenes with Kevin Bacon's character, who might be the most interesting character in the film despire only really being in the final fifteen to twenty minutes.

This is probably the biggest budget Esmail has had to work with (he created TV Mr. Robot) but he creates some top-notch set pieces in this. While there is nothing huge, the opening tanker crash and a character running from a crashing plane being the biggest the movie allows itself to go, his keen visual eye is very much in tact here. The movie is very well-filmed, including some ace tracking shots that expertly take us from one group of characters to another with jaw-dropping ease.

Like I said, there is a lot to enjoy here. It is too long due to the script being unfocused but features a great cast and some solid suspense. There are people who will be frustrated with the resolution of the film, which feels like it is building towards something more and doesn't provide any satisfying answers. The ending does make sense, but it leans into the satirical aspect of the story rather than the suspense ending it was also building towards. Regardless of your feelings on the ending, you have to appreciate the movie at least will have you talking.

Grade: B

Leave the World Behind is currently streaming on Netflix