Leave the World Behind (film)

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Leave the World Behind
Release poster
Directed bySam Esmail
Screenplay bySam Esmail
Based onLeave the World Behind
by Rumaan Alam
Produced by
  • Julia Roberts
  • Marisa Yeres Gill
  • Lisa Gillan
  • Sam Esmail
  • Chad Hamilton
Starring
CinematographyTod Campbell
Edited byLisa Lassek
Music byMac Quayle
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • October 25, 2023 (2023-10-25) (AFI)
  • November 22, 2023 (2023-11-22)
Running time
140 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Leave the World Behind is a 2023 American apocalyptic psychological thriller film written and directed by Sam Esmail. It is based on the 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam. The film stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon as they attempt to make sense of the gradual breakdown in phones, television, and other regularly used technology which points to a potential cataclysm.

Leave the World Behind had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on October 25, 2023. It was released in select theaters on November 22, 2023, before its streaming release by Netflix on December 8, 2023. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

The film is set in New York City and Long Island. The psychological subtext turns on white liberalism and class divisions. Misanthrope Amanda Sandford[3] arranges an impromptu weekend getaway at a lavish vacation rental near a beach with the goal of spending quality time together with her family. She and her white husband Clay drive to the rental on Long Island with their teenage son Archie and younger daughter Rose.

While shopping for groceries, Amanda notices a rugged man (Danny) stocking up on large quantities of canned food and water. Later, while the family relaxed at a nearby beach, they narrowly escape an oil tanker that ran ashore. When they return to the house, they notice the TV and Wi-Fi aren't working and a pair of deer stare at the house from beyond the pool.

That night, the wealthy owner, George H. ("G.H.") Scott and his college-age daughter Ruth, unexpectedly interrupt the Sandfords' ideal vacation. Seeking shelter, G.H. explains that a blackout in Manhattan compelled their return. Amanda is suspicious. Clay invites them to stay.

The next morning, Rose is frustrated that the Wi-Fi and TV are still down, which has prevented her from watching the series finale of Friends. Amanda notices news alerts on her phone about the blackout, most of which are about hackers, and the final one being corrupted code. Bored, Rose witnesses a large herd of deer motionless in the backyard.

Attempting to learn about the disruptions and fix the Wi-Fi, Clay drives to town while G.H. heads to his neighbors' house; Clay abandons a non-English speaking Hispanic woman desperately seeking help and spots a drone dropping leaflets written in Arabic. Meanwhile, G.H. searches a neighbor's home, discovers the wreckage of a plane crash, and narrowly escapes a second one.

Elsewhere, Rose hikes along with Archie in the nearby woods, where they come across an empty shed, and Archie removes a tick from his ankle on the way back. Returning to the house, G.H. confides to Amanda the events he witnessed. He theorizes that nationwide satellite connectivity has been disrupted, but he is cut off by a loud shrill sonic attack. Amanda recalls the man stockpiling water, whom G.H. assumes is Danny, his housing contractor. Clay returns shaken with the leaflet, which Archie partially translates as "Death to America". Fed up, the Sandfords flee the rental, intending to drive to Amanda's sister in New Jersey, but find the highway jammed with collided self-driving Teslas; they narrowly avoid incoming cars that crash as well, and they are forced to return to G.H.'s house.

Throughout the night, Ruth asks Clay provocative questions and later discovers flamingoes in the pool. Amanda and G.H. establish a friendly bond around music from the new jack swing era, but are startled by a second shrill sonic attack, then the power fails. Later, Rose tells Amanda a story from an episode of The West Wing where God attempts to save a man from a flood with several warnings and escape opportunities.

The next morning, Archie's teeth inexplicably fall out; believing it is related to the tick bite, G.H. suggests visiting Danny for medicine. Rose, however, is missing. G.H. and Clay take Archie to visit Danny, while Amanda and Ruth search for Rose. At the shed, the two are confronted by a herd of deer, which they scare away. Meanwhile, G.H. and Clay attempt to convince Danny to help Archie, which results in an armed standoff between G.H. and Danny. Clay intervenes, convincing Danny to help Archie. Afterwards, Danny tells G.H. that another neighbor may be equipped with an underground bunker and suggests that the noise and Archie's teeth falling out are the results of a microwave weapon.

Shaken, G.H. hypothesizes to Clay and Archie that the country is in the midst of a three-stage military campaign that will culminate in a coup d'état. At the same time, Amanda and Ruth watch New York City being bombed and hear gunfire in the distance. Meanwhile, Rose has found the neighbor's house with the bunker. Inside, a computer message warns of elevated radiation levels across multiple U.S. cities and attack by rogue armed forces. She finds a DVD of Friends, and watches the series finale.

Cast

The film stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon.

Production

Writer/director Sam Esmail.

Netflix won a bidding war for the rights to the novel by Rumaan Alam in July 2020, with Sam Esmail attached to write and direct. Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington were set to star in and produce the film.[4]

Former U.S. president Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama executive-produced the film through their Higher Ground Productions banner. Obama included the novel on his 2021 summer reading list.[5]

Writing

The novel, according to notable writer and blogger Roxane Gay, is a psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of race, class, and family dynamics, mirroring the chaos of a world on the brink of collapse. In the opulent setting of the Hamptons, a white family's vacation from a "comfortable but not extravagant life in their Brooklyn home"[3] takes a surreal turn when the black homeowners unexpectedly arrive.

Obama offered Esmail his thoughts on the screenplay during the writing process. Esmail said, "He had a lot notes about the characters and the empathy we would have for them. I have to say he is a big movie lover, and he wasn't just giving notes about things that were from his background. He was giving notes as a fan of the book, and he wanted to see a really good film."[5]

Casting and filming

In September 2021, Mahershala Ali had been cast in the film, replacing Washington, who had left the project.[6] Ethan Hawke and Myha'la Herrold joined in January 2022.[7][8]

Filming began in April 2022 on Long Island,[9] in a home designed by The Up Studio.[10] Additional filming took place in Katonah, New York in May 2022.[11]

Soundtrack

Mac Quayle composed an original score for the film which consisted of 9 notes and was inspired by French composer Olivier Messiaen and his Messiaen modes, namely Mode 3. Quayle said "I started playing around with them and I found that Mode 3, which is essentially a scale, was producing a really interesting harmonic feeling," going on to say "And I got this idea that I might do the entire film in this one mode... I didn't know if it would carry me through the entire film, but it did."[12]

Esmail tried to pick songs that had not been used on TV or film before as he was worried viewers would have associations with those songs that would "interfere or complicate what the scene's about or what the viewer is feeling as they're watching the scene." For example, Esmail chose "Too Close" by Next, a song that he felt was "really funny and sweet at the same time" and had not been overused in film, for a scene that "goes from lighthearted and playful to sad and dark within a matter of a minute."[12]

Release

Leave the World Behind had its world premiere as the opening film of the AFI Fest on October 25, 2023, with the cast not attending due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[13] It was released in limited theaters on November 22, before streaming Netflix on December 8, 2023.[14]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 148 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "An exceptionally well-acted apocalyptic thriller, Leave the World Behind steadily draws the viewer in despite its leisurely pace and somewhat simplistic messaging."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]

In a positive review for The Washington Post, Michael O'Sullivan wrote, "It plays like an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but without the supernatural element and with a thick vein of social critique running throughout. What happens may be extreme, but it feels based on mundane reality."[17] Wenlei Ma writing for The Sunday Times called the film "jittery and suspenseful", and that some overhead cinematography "emphasises that we're all puppets in someone's else marionette theatre ... we're not in control, but Esmail is of his startling, character-driven doomsday story".[18]

Bilge Ebiri for Vulture compared the film unfavorably to Alam's book: "every change made for the adaptation happens to be for the worse. ... the film doesn't demonstrate any kind of interest in, or affection for, its characters. ... This feels more like a collection of cool ideas than scenes that belong to the same emotional and consequential continuum."[19] Alissa Wilkinson for The New York Times wrote, "After a while, the movie plays like a bulleted list of everything wrong with America ... the narrative tension dulls into passivity, both for us and for the characters", and that the "ending seems like a punchline."[3]

Esmail said he hoped the film's ending would provoke conversation: "...the expectation is at the end of [traditional disaster] films, your cast of characters overcomes the disaster and the world reverts back to some sane semblance of normalcy. I knew that I wasn't going to do that."[20]

Audience viewership

From December 4 to December 10, 2023, the film topped the streaming charts and was the number one film on Netflix, with 41.7 million views.[21]

References

  1. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 14, 2022). "The Obamas' Higher Ground Boards Sam Esmail's Netflix Pic Leave the World Behind". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "Leave the World Behind (15)". BBFC. December 22, 2023. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Wilkinson, Alissa (December 7, 2023). "'Leave the World Behind' Review: It's the End of the World, I Guess". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  4. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 20, 2020). "Netflix Wins Julia Roberts-Denzel Washington-Sam Esmail Package Leave The World Behind Based On Rumaan Alam's Upcoming Novel". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Nast, Condé (September 27, 2023). "'Leave the World Behind': Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke Face the End-Times". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 14, 2021). "Mahershala Ali To Co-Star With Julia Roberts In Sam Esmail and Netflix's Leave The World Behind". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 18, 2022). "Ethan Hawke, Industry's Myha'la Herrold & Others Join Julia Roberts In Netflix's Leave The World Behind". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  8. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (April 18, 2022). "Kevin Bacon Joins Julia Roberts' Leave the World Behind at Netflix (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Lovece, Frank (April 5, 2022). "Julia Roberts' Netflix movie Leave the World Behind filming on Long Island". Newsday. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Ramirez, Jeffrey (August 10, 2023). "The House from Leave the World Behind". Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  11. ^ Croke, Karen (May 24, 2022). "Julia Roberts, Jesse Eisenberg projects filming in Katonah, Nyack". lohud. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Cremona, Patrick (December 11, 2023). "Leave the World Behind soundtrack: All the songs in the Netflix thriller". Radio Times. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  13. ^ Rankin, Seija (October 25, 2023). "What the 'Leave the World Behind' Adaptation (and a Julia Roberts-Starring Role) Means to Rumaan Alam". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  14. ^ Evans, Greg (October 2, 2023). "Leave The World Behind Trailer: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali & Ethan Hawke Face Apocalypse In Netflix Film". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  15. ^ "Leave the World Behind". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 21, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "Leave the World Behind". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  17. ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (November 20, 2023). "'Leave the World Behind': Real, and real scary". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  18. ^ Ma, Wenlei (December 7, 2023). "Suspenseful movie taps into our anxieties". PerthNow. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  19. ^ Ebiri, Bilge (December 8, 2023). "Leave the World Behind Doesn't Know What to Do With the Apocalypse". Vulture. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Rose, Lacey (December 20, 2023). "'Leave the World Behind' Director Sam Esmail Explains His Controversial Ending". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  21. ^ Campione, Katie (December 12, 2023). "Leave The World Behind Dominates Netflix In Streaming Debut; Obliterated Takes No. 1 For TV". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

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