Movie Review: ‘Leave the World Behind’

Director: Sam Esmail

Cast: Julia Robert, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzi, Charlie Evans, Kevin Bacon

Plot: A rather grouchy woman books an impromptu weekend getaway at a rented beach-side home. Amid a couple of strange occurrences, the family who own the home arrive at the door hoping to take refuge from the ominous happenings.

Review: Even during this period of Netflix domination, it’s eye-catching to see some of these A-List names together on a streaming exclusive. It even features President Obama and First Lady Michelle among its producers. It could be viewed as a dire warning of things to come…or may be a run-of-the-mill thriller that will quickly become lost in the mire of streaming output.

Amanda Sandford (Roberts) is an unpleasant person, finding other people to be irksome and society as a whole to be a source of disdain. Wanting to ‘leave the world behind’ for a weekend, she books a place on homestay website on Long Island and surprises her husband and two children with a holiday.

There’s a couple of unusual turns after they arrive at the modern, lavish house and beach, starting with the cell service dropping out and, more spectacularly, an oil tanker running ashore. As media and communication services continue to falter, Amanda and her husband Clay (Hawke) are surprised to find a man and his daughter claiming to the owners of the house turn up and the door looking to share the accommodation. G.H. (Ali) and Ruth (Myha’la) create tension by setting up in the basement room, as Amanda is immediately suspicious of both their claims and their intention.

The internet goes down, the TV spots picking up a signal, and large groups of animals begin gathering in the garden. As the situation worsens, planes begin crashing out of the air, they witness people panicking and Clay finds a mass of fliers covered with Arabic script being dropped from the air. Among the distrust the household is feeling, they seek out answers as to what is happening. This is a driving interest for the viewer. With the characters being largely closed off, it’s seeing the curtain pulled back that motivates us to keep watching. With the smorgasbord of different clues that also gives one the feeling that they’re going to pull a Lost and be unable to give us one final answer that pulls everything. It certainly doesn’t do much with the themes of classism and racism that run through the story.

The mysterious going-ons build up tension for a while, but there’s some moments where the movie seriously stumbles in setting a tone. In one memorable sequence, the family attempt to leave the area but find the road clogged with crashed Tesla cars. In a sequence that is paced to drag out the big scare moment, complete with a sudden musical sting, we get a big dramatic zoom in a little sign reading ‘Self Driving Mode’ on the cars. Yes, the big scary moment is that Tesla cars can drive themselves they’ve gone rogue! In a comical action sequence, they scramble back to their car and try to escape while evil Teslas hurtle towards them. It’s very silly scene, with a commonly known fact is treated as a twist, and Julia Roberts screaming in the middle of the road adding to the adsurdity.

Picking on this scene for a bit longer, this is a prime example of a Refrigerator Moment for audiences. It may feel plausible at the time, but any thought given to this and it falls apart. Whether its hackers, a war, a supernatural happening or any of the breadcrumbs scattered throughout, it’s silly to accept that the cars have enough functionality to drive themselves, but selectively decided to ignore what side of the road they should drive on and to avoid crashing into things. It becomes less threatening the more holes poked through it.

If you can stay engaged until the end, somehow not switching it off during an extended scene of Julia Roberts hollering and jumping up and down at a herd of disinterested deer, you will find an adequate pay off. There’s some haunting imagery as the truth is laid out for us, but it’s nothing that will linger beyond the run time.

Leave the World Behind feels like it wants to say something that will scare us about the modern world, but a wavering tone and surface level characters let it down. For a movie that wants to have an impact, it really took a gamble – and lost – in ending on a weak gag.

Rating: FIVE out of TEN