As the future continues to look bleak, more and more authors, screenwriters, and showrunners alike have taken up the mantle to tell such a story. ‘Leave the World Behind’, the novel written by Rumaan Alam, is such a story, though Alam’s ruminations aren’t on the how of the end of the world but more on the how we react to those final days. In the film ‘Leave the World Behind’, we get a little more of the ‘how’ of the end of the world, but still the core of Alam’s inquiries are at heart as we follow two families, dissimilar in striking ways while similar in others, navigate their new togetherness as the world increasingly appears to be at threat.
‘Leave the World Behind’ Review
Leave the World Behind (Ethan Hawke as Clay Sandford; Source: Netflix, Jojo Whilden)
The film begins with an idyllic vacation booked on a whim by Amanda Sandford, played by Julia Roberts, to take her family out of New York City for a few days to an AirBNB (or VRBO) to seek some much needed peace. Her husband Clay, played to type by Ethan Hawke, goes along with this last minute plan, as it seems he with most things in life as his chill, affable persona so strongly contrasts his stressed, stern wife. Together with their two kids, their teenage son played by Archie, played by Charlie Evans, and their younger daughter Rose, played by Farrah Mackenzie, they start enjoying their family vacation. Archie’s more interested in girls. Rose just wants to watch the final episodes of friends. Clay and Amanda just want to relax and have some family fun.
Gradually things appear off though as an oil tanker runs aground at the beach where they’re relaxing, nearly crashing into them and other beachgoers. Shortly after the family’s phone signal and internet appear to become spotty, and a mysterious pair G.H. Scott and Ruth, played by Mahershala Ali and Myha’la respectively, present themselves as the owners of the house. Clay lets them in and together they try to learn more about each other, and they hope to discover more about the strange ongoings outside their door.
At first glance this movie might seem consumed with the end of the world. Or if you ask your conservative friends (after seeing the Obamas are producers), it’s tied to some grand conspiracy theory. Really though it’s simpler then that, which is in part the problem. The film is mostly interested in the human connections, as these families overcome differences, and obvious racial biases – ahem Amanda – in the wake of some unknown looming threat. Though I’m not often a fan of apocalpytics works, such as The Walking Dead and others, who forget the zombies and lean into the drama they humans are feeling first and foremost, I felt that worked for ‘Leave the World Behind’. Largely because the incredible actors really delivered on each characters perspectives, and they are all given their own arc, perspective, and motivations. This is what I enjoyed.
What I thought didn’t work was the amount that the film really did try to explain the how of the end of the world, when it was best in my view when it was left a mystery. Deer on their own aren’t terrifying; however, when they’re gathered around you and staring that’s terrifying. We don’t need to know the reason why they are acting up. (Though amusingly after a similar scene, my friend who watched with me did ask “What’s with the deer?” to which a radio helpfully responded with the answer immediately after.) Hawke’s trip to find a newspaper is intense because everything is so unclear. In fact that’s one of my favorite scenes, which even knowing some Spanish (you’ll see) still worked to preserve the mystery, as we’re as lost as Clay is in that scene. Perhaps Sam Esmail, who directed the film and wrote the screenplay, was unsure audiences would be alright with few to no answers, but for this audience member in this film that wasn’t a problem.
Leave the World Behind (Charlie Evans as Archie Sandford; Source: Netflix, Jojo Whilden)
What’s difficult with this approach too is the danger of jumping into cliche. There are umpteen numbers of apocalpytic books, TV series, and films too, and its hard to stand apart by focusing on the cause of these incidences. Our own news, and certainly the more conspiratorial wings of the internet, deal with this in some form every day. So to present a case, even if murky, for the real cause just makes it too easy to compare to other often stronger stories. Thankfulyl it’s not the film’s priority, which is again these families; however, it overshadows the excellent dramatic work done with the casts portrayals of their characters.
So though this is not the thought provoking vision of the future this film hints at, it’s still a pretty strong mirror on our present that’s worth for some to engage in. That’s undoubtedly why folks like the Obamas signed on to produce the film, because they’re no nihilists; however, they also realize we need to better understand each other. To face advertisty we need togetherness, and trust, but even in our daily lives, with smaller battles for many of us, it’s important to have those connections. That’s what matters most and what I think the film does best, even if it doesn’t always know this.
