*Spoiler Alert*
Isolation, secrets, and a looming catastrophe—Leave the World Behind blends psychological tension with societal collapse. But does it deliver on its ambitious premise? In this mixed review, I explore the film’s gripping moments, frustrating choices, and what it all means in the end.
Based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel, Leave the World Behind was directed by Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), who brings his signature style of tension and social commentary. Netflix secured the film in a fierce bidding war, casting Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali in the lead roles—Ali replacing Denzel Washington, who was originally attached.
Filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the production leaned into themes of isolation and modern fragility. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the eerie score, adding to the film’s ominous tone. Despite its high-profile pedigree, reactions have been mixed, with praise for its atmosphere but critiques of its pacing and conclusion.
I came into this movie with high expectations. Given the amazing cast lineup I would’ve hoped more out of this movie but I all said and done this movie held my attention all the way through to the sudden and disappointing ending.
The movie opens on an insightful look into the mental hoops Amanda Sanford (Julia Roberts) has to jump through to justify her hatred towards the human experience. She convinces with her husband, Clay (Ethan Hawke), and together they decide to take their family on a quiet vacation for a little while to get away from the hubbub of their first world problems our protagonists must deal with everyday. And so they book themselves a very expensive, AirBnB tucked away in a secluded patch of woods near the beach to elude all the noise of the Big Apple.
Cue opening credits, and honestly, despite the lack of context or information, there’s enough going on to keep me invested. We get a better idea of who this family is. Amanda, who appears to not be having such a great time accompanies her golden retriever husband in the front seat while the children, Archie (Ethan Hawke) and Rose (Farrah Mckenzie). Archie seems to be your run of the mill teenager but the focus is put more on Rose. We find out pretty early just how obsessed with F.R.I.E.N.D.S. she is as they drive into a dead zone just as the theme song is played to the last episode of the entire series and the groaning begins.
If it weren’t for the fact this was an apocalyptic thriller I’d probably have tuned it out by this point. I won’t lie, it’s a little slow to start and you’re immediately greeted by a character that embodies the spirit of the infamous Karen. She gives a terrible vibe that’s beautifully matched by her husband’s loving pushover personality. Don’t get me wrong, Clay seems like a nice enough guy at this and first impressions aren’t terrible but if I had to compare him to any other character it’d have to be Caillou’s dad.
The family does a little shopping before reaching their destination. Getting only the essentials, one of them notices a shopper buying pallets of supplies. Nothing to exciting happens after that. The family leaves the store with a car full of groceries and the next scene we arrive at the house. The family takes a while to explore the property and we get to listen to Rose continue to complain about not being able to watch the last episode of her favorite show.
Between Amanda’s angst and Rose’s complaining I have to give props to Clay for not going postal on them. Thankfully Clay convinces everyone to drop the moaning and enjoy a little time at the beach. They pack a few suits and in the next scene we meet them on a beach. A barge can be seen on the distance and Clay makes an intelligent remark about a nearby dock. Time cuts to a while later and the barge is way closer now, heading in their direction. Rose wakes her parents and they ponder on the idea that maybe, just maybe, this barge is now way too close for comfort. Clay and Amanda hurriedly usher the kids further down the beach while this massive cargo ship tears through the beach annihilating their comfy spot.
The scene sets up a lot of questions, something you’ll get used to throughout the rest of the movie. Not much happens after the barge crashes. The family sort of just look at the boat then go back to the rental.
After the beach we met the owners of the house they’re renting, a father that goes by G. H (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth Scott (Myha’la).
The racial tension builds as Amanda confronts her husband about how weird these people are in ways that only as person looking for the manager could. These two characters become staples in the rest of the movie.
You might notice I only really mentioned Archie once up to this point and that’s because he’s never really a major focus during film until about halfway through when he gets bitten by a genetically modified hell tick (there isn’t much explanation on the origin of the bug) and suffered an advanced form of rapid Lyme disease. This whole bit bothered me solely for the fact that Archie wasn’t anything more than an older brother. He teases his little sister and pervs on Ruth but other than that not much is really known about who this character is.
Okay so where did the movie go wrong?
Well, aside from characters that portray the kind of people I avoid, the weird out of place paranormal events that make little sense, and the looming end of life as they know it, the worst part about the entire movie is the ending
Rose disappears while Amanda and Ruth argue and Clay and G.H. take Archie to a neighbor that may have the cue to save him. Amanda and Ruth team up to find Rose. They search an old shed behind the house and I’m that moment they decide to settle their racial grievances. It’s a heartwarming scene up until the magic deer swarm the shed. The scare the deer away and continue looking in the woods. In the distance Amanda sees the nearest city under attack. Plumes of smoke rise over the skyscrapers as they both watch.
We then see Rose, who’s been comfortably eating all the food out of an abandoned estate next door to the Airbnb. She explores the house further and finds heavy door into the basement where she discovers an entire room filled with every comfort you could ever desire in the apocalypse including a home theater with every DVD under the sun, specifically F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on a complete box set.
As she sets up the show to play on the massive screen, a terminal running in the background implies that nukes gave been launched and mutually assured destruction will ensue. The end of the world. Roll credits…
This movie had amazing potential. The idea was great! A terrorist attack wipes out cell signals, a disease is introduced, there’s a lot disorienting sound, and the thousands magic deer are grooming Rose to follow them into the woods. That’s not a typo either, thousands of magic deer. Why? I couldn’t tell you. This movie kept too many secrets from the viewers. It was an interesting creative choice and I can see it working on paper but in execution left me angry when none of them get answered at the end!
I hated this ending. We are only left with our assumptions at this point and numerous questions and that’s sort of the point. The whole movie was built off the idea that misinformation will lead to our demise but some of the themes were portrayed in confusing ways.
Overall my rating of this movie isn’t great. It was slow to start, hard to follow, and they decided to choose the worst possible sound to use for a couple a scenes that actually made me wince in literal pain.
A 5/10. I wouldn’t immediately recommend it unless you enjoy being confused for a few hours.
Thank you so much for reading my review! Let me know in the comments your thoughts on the movie ❤️
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