Leave the World Behind

I'm a sucker for a good apocalypse/pre-apocalypse story. There's something about teasing out the "what if" in the back of all our minds as we hear about world events that is equal parts terrifying, far-fetched, and yet hauntingly believable.

Netflix's new, stacked-cast, Leave the World Behind really nails that combination to provide a tense, riveting experience that had me [mostly] glued to my TV. Featuring the likes of Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke based on a novel by the same name (side note: it would be a ton of fun to write my own type of story like this...), it's the start of the end of the world, dripping in LOST-esque mystery. 

Amanda (Roberts), Clay (Hawke), and their 2 kids decide to get out of NYC and rent a home in the woods. The home's owner, G.H. (Ali) and his daughter arrive one night, asking if they can stay. It's not immediately clear if they can be trusted or what their motives are, but this is simultaneously matching with what else is going on in the world - phone and internet is down - that it packs together effectively. 

What I liked most about Leave the World Behind was the mystery and tension it slowly built, while also featuring a satisfying payoff and explanation. It's always a worry with these stories: will questions actually get answered? Will we find out what's going on? In this instance we don't get 100% confirmation, but there's enough character research that I'm comfortable with the terrifying answer we get, in addition to some final moments that add further - haunting - clarification. It's also a great balance of realism and hard-to-believe-that-would-happen moments that left me off-kilter throughout. The final answer not being something like "aliens" or "religious apocalypse" was welcomed as those may have felt a little too out-there. Along the way, there's many worthwhile character interactions amidst the escalating events that build stronger bonds among our core group and are delivered well given how talented the cast is. Specific moments of intensity are filmed with a unique and effective camera tricks too, aiming to keep the audience as turned around and upside down as the poster above would indicate. 

There are some forgivable sins that I had an easy time only being mildly perturbed about. The CGI can be rough, especially with animals. Those animals and the phenomenon with their migration is never explained well, nor do the final answers really indicate why...but look, I don't need everything answered. There's some shoved-in racial tension that felt out-of-place and barely gets any time to breathe. However, the single biggest issue with the film hurts it quite a bit: dumb kids. Specifically, a dumb girl. Clay and Amanda's daughter, Rose, is such a stupid child and annoyingly written character, that pretty much any scene with her in it, I began to tune out. Amidst the apocalypse, she remains obsessed with Friends (yes, the TV show) and even runs off - in the middle of the apocalypse - to find a home that has Friends on hard copy, among other aggravating transgressions. Unfortunately, the film makes the awful decision to give her more air time than she deserves, and even centers the ending around her, leaving me wishing we could have gotten better understanding of where other characters were left. 

Perhaps others will have less issue with Rose, but I actually think this could have been a Top 10 film of the year, had it not been for this character (and yes, the child actor is fine...it's the character itself). So yeah...note to self if I ever write one of these: don't include children, or if I do, at least have them be smart. Rant aside, it shouldn't push you to avoid Leave the World Behind, because there's a lot of awesome work being done to build tension and mystery while the answers provided to most things are perhaps the scariest of all. 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 8/10