‘Leave the World Behind’ is Interesting
Mahershala Ali, Myha’la, Julia Roberts, and Ethan Hawke in Leave the World Behind | Credit: Netflix
A family’s getaway vacation takes a dramatic turn when two strangers turn up as things go awry.
I was fascinated by Leave the World Behind. This film is incredibly ambitious and attempts to tackle many different topics that are all relevant and important for our world today. It’s filmed incredibly creatively with interesting camera movements and moments of sometimes unusual yet beautiful framing. And it’s all underscored by an incredibly eerie score that makes every interaction, even the mundane moments, seem ominous.
The house that this family stays at is gorgeous! (Seriously, I want to live in this house — how do I get someone to build me this house?) It’s easy to make Leave the World Behind look as gorgeous as it does when you’re filming in such a stunning location. I wanted to spend more time in this house because it’s simply a dream.
While I really appreciate the creativity of this film, I don’t think it’s a homerun. Unfortunately, I think that Leave the World Behind suffers from the law of diminishing returns. The score, cinematography, and themes that initially attracted me to this film and drew me into the story started to become less effective as the film went on.
At nearly two-and-a-half hours long, I think that this film is just too long. There’s so much packed into Leave the World Behind, but not every moment is maximized. Certain moments really sing and are utterly captivating. Other moments feel like they are dragging, and you long for those moments of excitement and spark again.
I am convinced that if the screenplay had been honed further, this movie could’ve been one of the most powerful new releases of the year.
Leave the World Behind | Credit: Netflix
While I think the screenplay is a bit of a letdown, the leads give great performances in this film.
Julia Roberts plays Amanda, a high-strung marketing professional who just doesn’t like people. She has a really negative outlook on the world and also needs things to be a certain way.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched a new Julia Roberts movie and she did not disappoint. From the first minute she came on screen, she was utterly captivating. Roberts is such a wonderful actress, and she brings so much to this role. It was great to see her playing a character that is complex and interesting.
Amanda grows and changes throughout the film, and Julia Roberts handles all of these shifts and changes beautifully.
She is complimented well by Ethan Hawke’s performance as Amanda’s husband, Clay. He is much more chill and seems unphased by many things. He is happy to allow his wife to take the lead but isn’t afraid to speak up when he needs to. Hawke does a great job of bringing this character to life, serving as a compliment instead of the main character.
Mahershala Ali is exceptional as G. H. Scott, who is fascinating and keeps you guessing throughout the film. I was enraptured during the moments when he is just talking and sharing stories from his life. I would’ve been perfectly content if the whole film was just him reciting stories to the camera. He has this “most interesting man in the world” vibe to him, and it just works.
Of course, Ali has a much greater task than just that throughout the film and handles that with seeming ease. Our perception of this character shifts and changes as we learn more about him, and Ali is convincing with each of these changes.
Next, I want to talk about some of the shortcomings of this film, which means that I’m going to spoil some things. So, if you haven’t yet seen Leave the World Behind and don’t want it spoiled, please don’t read on. This film is currently streaming on Netflix.
Leave the World Behind poster | Credit: Netflix
I really wanted to like this film. From the very start, I was incredibly interested in what was going on. But I think that the themes and message of the film become a bit muddled because it’s just too ambitious.
Leave the World Behind confronts racism, classism, environmental disaster, our dependence on technology, war, and more. These themes are all interesting, but I don’t feel as though this film was able to explore them as well as it could have.
To me, one of the most interesting parts of this movie is the generational divide in how G.H. and his daughter, Ruth (Myha’la), handle the racism that Amanda directs toward them. G.H. doesn’t confront these moments but continues to smile and be calm in the face of her macro and microaggressions.
Ruth takes a different approach. She unashamedly decides to confront these things head-on. She’s not afraid of stepping on toes, but is going to call out racism when she sees it.
I loved seeing G.H. and Ruth respond so differently to being in this difficult situation and I think these moments really work well. These moments help us learn so much about both of them and create some great moments of tension.
Instead of really focusing on these people and their experiences, the film goes deep into other themes surrounding cybersecurity and this hack that shut down the city. As the story gets wider, the story suffers. But when we’re able to zoom in and really focus on these characters, Leave the World Behind excels.
While the ending is interesting and hilarious — some people will go to any lengths to watch Friends — I don’t think it packed the punch I think it was supposed to. My takeaway was essentially that the world is screwed (which is probably accurate), and there’s nothing we can do about it. So, instead of trying to improve the world, we should just resign ourselves to making ourselves as comfortable as possible for the inevitable end (and maybe rewatch Friends again).
This film left me in a pretty depressed mood. To me, Leave the World Behind reinforces Amanda’s feelings that humanity sucks, and I was left wondering what the point of this movie was. Sure, these people were able to find some sort of connection together, but even that isn’t guaranteed. And the larger world is on fire, so even their bond hasn’t made any meaningful change.
Farrah Mackenzie in Leave the World Behind | Credit: Netflix
I enjoyed aspects of Leave the World Behind, but I think if the screenplay had been scaled back some, this could’ve ended up being one of my favorite movies of the year. The characters are interesting, the setting is gorgeous, the themes are important, and the cinematography is fun and creative. But, for me, there is just too much going on in this film that I’m not sure it executed everything as well as it could have.
While there are plenty of flaws in this movie, there’s also some good stuff. For example, Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) references what we all know: the Sorkin seasons are the best seasons of The West Wing. A girl after my own heart!