Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la must work together to survive what appears to be an apocalyptic event.
Following the success of Rumaan Alam’s novel, Leave the World Behind, in 2020, it was only a matter of time before it was adapted into a film.
The sci-fi psychological thriller, written and directed by Sam Esmail, stars Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke as husband and wife Amanda and Clay, who decide to get away from Brooklyn with their kids Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) and rent a home on Long Island for a few days.
One night, two strangers – G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and Ruth (Myha’la) – knock on the door and claim that it is their house and they need to stay because there is a blackout in the city. Nobody is able to prove who they are because there is no internet, phone signal or TV.
Naturally, there is a sense of mistrust between them but they have to put that aside and work together when unexplainable things start happening, potentially signalling the start of an apocalyptic event.
The movie is a more satisfying apocalyptic thriller than the book because Esmail has added big end-of-the-world-style set-pieces to make it more cinematic visually.
However, those coming to Leave the World Behind expecting an action-packed survival movie might be disappointed because it is mostly a leisurely-paced and dialogue-driven character study.
While there are apocalyptic moments, it mostly follows these characters learning to live in the same space as each other and figuring out what to do when they have no idea what’s going on.
The sense of dread and threat builds throughout the movie as the unexplainable goings-on get progressively more serious and concerning.
Esmail creates this unsettling atmosphere with chilling music and discombobulating camera movements and angles.
While the performances are excellent all around, the character dynamics are substantially different between the movie and the book.
In Alam’s novel, G.H. is much older than Amanda and Clay and has power over them because he is significantly more mature. Having the adults as roughly the same age levels the playing field a little bit.
In addition, the character of Ruth was G.H.’s wife in the novel but she has been changed into his daughter in the film. This massively altered the power dynamic, however, it was a good idea because young Ruth has more of a no-nonsense attitude.
The ending of the story is slightly more satisfying than the book thanks to a few minor changes, however, it is still a letdown overall because you are expecting more to come.
The script and performances are solid but the pace is too slow and more needed to happen.
On Netflix from Friday 8th December.
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