‘Leave The World Behind’ Review: Mystery Is The Culprit In Apocalyptic Thriller [AFI Fest]
(L-R) Mahershela Ali, Myha’la, Julia Roberts, & Ethan Hawke in Leave the World Behind. Courtesy of Netflix.
Many critics, myself included, often complain about the use of exposition (the background information the audience needs to know for the world of your story to make sense), more specifically, the use of exposition in excess, usually slowing a film’s pace and losing some of its viewers in the details rather than focusing on the bigger picture (looking at you, Tenet). There’s a perfect balance to be found here, in most cases, that is. Unfortunately, Leave the World Behind swings way past the midline, losing its audience from confusion, not because we know too much about what’s going on, but because we don’t know anything at all.
Leave the World Behind. Courtesy of Netflix.
Based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 book of the same name, Leave the World Behind begins in the bedroom of Clay (Ethan Hawke) and Amanda Sanford (Julia Roberts). She wants to get away from the city — relax, spend time with the kids, you know, for normal reasons. Then we’re in The Hamptons watching from the outside of a car window as it barrels down a highway, then we’re in the car, then the back seat, then back outside… Yet the windows were closed. This is the first example of many where it seems that the production teams were more focused on flying the camera all over the place — more CGI, more $$$ — rather than doing something simple and doing it well. Sure, it’s initially engaging, but the sweeping movements rapidly become a gimmick, adding minutes to the already bloated runtime and slowing down scenes that need to use a faster pace to build more effective tension.
Anyways — the Sanfords arrive at the house in which they’re staying — a perfectly picturesque modern home with a pool, backyard… The kind of place one thinks of when one’s asked to name their dream vacation home. After the initial vacation boredom kicks in, they head to the beach, where, strangely, a cargo ship beaches in front of them — our first clue that something is off in these woods. Later that night, two strangers knock on the front door — G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) — the owners of the home who had to escape the city after a blackout. And then, the emergency broadcast kicks in.
(L-R) Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershela Ali, & Myha’la in Leave the World Behind. Courtesy of Netflix.
Leave the World Behind is a twisty movie, and we’ll refrain from cluing you into many of said twists and turns, but the issue with the form the film takes is that, even after the “Okay, here’s what’s really happening,” monologue in the third act, we don’t actually know what’s going on, who’s behind the blackout (and more), and what the implications are. Sure, we know what the impact is, but where’s the motivation? Where’s the reasoning as to why someone (a group of people? It’s very opaque) would do such a thing? Moreover, a lot of the pent-up thrills would have greater payoff if they weren’t shrouded in confusion. There’s a lot of biblical imagery and titling, but none of it seems to come to any meaningful fruition.
It’s sad that with three leads like Hawke, Roberts, and Ali, Leave the World Behind doesn’t contain any good performances. There’s a memeable quality to be found in various moments of humor throughout the cast, but each performer feels like they’re operating on their own individual wavelength, and it doesn’t help that they’re working off of an overwritten script from a director that cares more about what the camera is doing than the actors. Sure, the movie is, to an extent, well-shot, but that shouldn’t be put before telling a cohesive story and getting good performances out of your actors, right?
Either way, though, what screenwriter/director Sam Esmail accomplishes here is leaving his audience confused and unsure of what actually happened, not sure if they truly want to know more or just want to make sure they’re not completely clueless. But hey, if you’re looking for a head-scratching apocalyptic thriller with the occasional good moment, give this one a shot.
