Leave the World Behind – Review
I had heard about Leave the World Behind and I was interested as I have a thing for apocalyptic movies. But I also heard some mixed reactions from people and so had second thoughts. It was only after my daughter saw it and recommended it.
I am limited in what I can share in this review because enjoyment of the movie depends on the surprises. What I can say is that it is about a family who goes away for the weekend and they rent a house out of the city.
Some strange things begin to happen, like the oil tanker that beaches itself as seen in the trailer. Internet, phone, and television go out as well. At first the family is doing okay with this, enjoying the house and pool and just being out of the city.
But then someone claiming to be the owner of the house arrives with his daughter and insists on staying there with them. Things get more and more bizarre from there.
The questions on everyone’s mind are what is causing this and how widespread is it? But even deeper than those questions is: Who can they trust?
This movie kept me guessing and I had no idea what was going on until the very end. Even then, not every question was answered.
Julia Roberts’s character is the mom of the family and much of the story is from her perspective. She is not a very likeable character, partially because of Roberts’s acting skills. She is someone who dislikes people and who represents the cynicism that tempts us all. How will her cynicism survive the end of the world?
Actually there is some tremendous acting from all those in the movie. I especially liked Ethan Hawke’s acting but even the lesser known actors were great. Mahershala Ali keeps us guessing as to the motives of his character. This movie really is a character piece.
Most movies end by tying up all the loose ends. Not this one. What I appreciated about this movie is that we left in the same boat as the characters. With no communication, they cannot get facts but can only piece together the clues the best they can.
I found Leave the World Behind to be a fresh look at the end of the world genre. I enjoyed it and recommend it to others.
You may also be interested in Leave the World Behind: A Novel (Amazon affiliate link)
