When Amanda and Clay (Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawk) settle their family into an upscale vacation rental for a getaway, they encounter anyone’s great fear in that situation – a late-night knock at the door. In the doorway, an apprehensive man and his daughter (Mahershala Ali, Myha’la Herrold) state that they’re the owners of the home and need shelter immediately. Clay is willing to listen, but Amanda is apoplectic, wishing to eject these mysterious visitors out of her life just as quickly as they arrived. In a few short hours, Amanda will wish for problems as minor as a knock at the door.
Leave the World Behind is the baby of Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, based on the novel by Rumaan Alam. Anyone familiar with the director’s previous work is well aware Esmail loves elaborate, all-encompassing conspiracy theories paired with a sobering view of technology and its effect on society. That effect not only manifests in how systems utilize telecommunication to govern and oppress but is also displayed in the mental anguish that modern technology can exacerbate – or the ways we use those instruments to cope with our struggle. However, for Amanda Sandford, her issues aren’t mental anguish but an outright disgust for commoners. What fuels her desire for a vacation is to get away from the annoying masses, a quest that’s thwarted by George (Ali) and his daughter Ruth’s (Herrold) intrusion. There’s even a tinge of racial bias, as Amanda outwardly doubts that George is the home’s true owner.
Meanwhile, various forces seem to be acting together in a plot that threatens the civility of American life. But Esmail juxtaposes the dire stakes with the seemingly trivial concerns of Amanda and Clay’s daughter, Rose (Farrah MacKenzie). The young girl wants to spend her vacation binge-watching Friends, a simple goal that’s put in jeopardy due to a potentially impending national catastrophe. Well, isn’t that simultaneously on the nose yet hopelessly relatable – young people indulging in frivolous entertainment as a distraction from a world they didn’t ask for but appear perpetually on the verge of collapse?
Esmail’s film is a weird movie, held together by a hodgepodge of ideas that I’m not entirely sure fit well together, but they’re at least entertaining for their wild swings. Well, not every swing – I don’t believe anyone asked for a dance scene between Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali as Next’s Too Close plays in the background, a song choice that the filmmakers no doubt believed was a deep cut. At times, the movie juggles too much at once in terms of both plot and tonal shifts (as the aforementioned scene suggests). But at its best, Leave the World Behind is a tense thriller that questions just how legitimate those alleged conspiracy theories are while offering hope that human interaction may not be as doomed as an online comment chain may lead you to believe.
Many of the characters are made to be intentionally unlikable early on, but an omnipresent existential threat sparks their metamorphosis into better people. There are attempts at environmental and class metaphors, including some goofy-looking CGI deer. Yet, the film’s most memorable moments are on the surface, usually featuring the plethora of character interactions or the film’s impressive setpieces. As a Netflix movie, this seems to be our modern equivalent of those mid-budget dramas with big stars in front of and behind the camera, although with added effects to keep up with modern tastes. Despite occasionally shoddy CGI, the cinematography is often elegant and colorful, although the camerawork can get a bit carried away with how showy it is. The action scenes aren’t meant to be the draw for a drama. Still, the spectacle here is enthralling, overwhelming the entire screen as natural disasters and human calamities threaten to annihilate the characters.
For all the silly things that Esmail’s screenplay tasks his characters with saying, for which there are many, no one here is phoning it in or registering it as inauthentic. Julia Roberts and Myha’la Herrold have the meatiest roles here, both seeming to enjoy being as big of an ass as possible. The guys get less to work with – Ali, in particular, is forced to pull off some pretty hammy exposition bordering on absurdity. He has perhaps the weakest part here – whereas, in contrast, Herrold gets to fire expletives in front of her father as if she’s sailing the high seas. These are roles and prickly personalities that are meant to piss people off as some sort of stand-in for modern social archetypes. However, it can be critiqued that Esmail perhaps goes too far in this direction, not offering enough likable traits to coax the audience’s empathy. Well, those are qualities that aren’t awkward dance-offs.
Still, I like Leave the World Behind quite a lot. Not because it’s a perfect movie; in fact, there’s plenty to nitpick about. But even if I don’t agree with all the choices, the premise remains fascinating in its many subtextual interpretations, with a talented cast and a dynamic filming style. If there is disappointment, it’s that the last act feels content with itself instead of pushing the premise to its full potential. Much of the messaging is hopeful, but more intrigue remains unexplored on the bone. Nonetheless, what we have is a messy but entertaining two hours of chaotic storytelling, accentuated by the desire to speak to a multitude of demographics, even if that desire doesn’t fully find its voice. Yet, the film’s lasting relatability is in the depiction of technology’s most fulfilling skill – sweeping us away to a world and a group of friends that are a little more idealized than we can hope for.
