Leave the World Behind (2023)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay's (Ethan Hawke)'s aspirational vacation with their teenage children is interrupted by the arrival of a middle aged couple who own the holiday home and who have fled an unprecedented blackout in the city. When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening. As strange sonic booms shatter the peace of the countryside, and animals start to migrate in strange ways, the physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate. The renters are upscale and White; the owners are upscale and Black. The issues of race clash and become distractions to the more alarming things are happening all around them. - Actors:
- Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la Herrold, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, Kevin Bacon, Alexis Rae Forlenza, Vanessa Aspillaga, Josh Drennen, Erica Cho, Orli Gottesman, Paul Frolov, Jesse King, Kevin Kenny, Alex Barber, Madison Jessica Bennett, Sebastian Deerkop, Stephanie Groves, Heather Lee
- Directors:
- Sam Esmail
- Producers:
- Sam Esmail, Marisa Yeres Gill, Lisa Roberts Gillan, Chad Hamilton, Julia Roberts
- Writers:
- Rumaan Alam, Sam Esmail
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
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Reviews (1) of Leave the World Behind
Clever, Riveting Apocalyptic Thriller - Leave the World Behind review by GI
This is rather good, an apocalyptic thriller that builds slowly with an ominous edge to the soundtrack and strange events that periodically occur while the characters try to fathom what on earth is happening! Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke are husband and wife, Amanda and Clay. Cynical and disgruntled with the regimented life of the city she rents a luxury house in the country so they and their two children can get away from it all. The loss of all internet, phone and TV signals combined with a strange event on the local beach baffles them and then two strangers, a father and daughter, claiming to be the house' owners arrive late at night. The story arc is neatly controlled as matters become more and more confusing with the characters struggling to know what to do. There is some great visuals and intriguing twists in the film but there's a deeper study here of the torments in American society. The attitudes to race, wealth and paranoia caused by lies in media and politics are all on offer here. Mahershali Ali costars here as the house owner arriving with his tough minded daughter (Myha'la) and Kevin Baco has a great cameo. Adapted from a bestselling novel this is well worth checking out, a surprising film in a well worn sub genre where it oozes originality.