Leave the World Behind
Leave the World Behind is a psychological thriller film starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawk, and Mahershala Ali. It was directed by Sam Esmail (the mind behind one of my favorite shows, Mr. Robot) and executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. When I noticed this credit during the opening title sequence, I thought it was a cool factoid. When the end credits rolled, I looked to my wife with fear and belief these crazy events could really happen.
The film asks the question, “What would happen if a cyberattack takes out the internet all across the nation.” According to this film, the answer is a lot of crazy stuff.
There’s a lot of mixed reviews to this film online, with a very vocal subset of people who did not like it. I understand why someone may not like this. However… I think this is easily one of the best films of the year. I absolutely loved every moment of it, and my eyes were glued to the screen. In terms of tension throughout, this is an all timer masterclass.
You can’t review a work of Sam Esmail without regaling the camerawork with praise. The camera does things that you can’t even fathom unless you’ve seen his work – there’s a shot of Julia Roberts walking up a flight of stairs that left me almost on the floor, lost in awe of how impressively it was shot.
The acting is incredible as well – Roberts and Hawke have amazing chemistry as husband and wife, and Ali is solid as always, especially as his character gets more screen-time and is able to develop.
Roberts and Hawke’s characters have two kids. Their daughter is fine, and has one of the best scenes toward the end of the film, but their son was annoying and hard to watch at times. The actor did a good job, he was just playing a very hatable character that I found it hard to care for.
Again, this film is not for everyone. I can imagine how someone may not like this, as it criticizes a very specific and large portion of the American public (Everyone has an uncle who would hate this). However, if you like stories about the end of the world and want to experience a version of it that feels eerie and real, this is the film for you.
Let me know if you watch it. I’d love to talk about it more 🙂
