Sam Esmail’s Leave the World Behind is a Master Class in Filmmaking
Netflix bet on a winner backing Leave the World Behind. This film is one of the best I’ve seen in 2023. It is truly a commentary on America today. On a whim, advertising exec. Amanda Stanford (Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich) books a vacation away from Brooklyn at a stunning house not too far away from the city but far enough to get a break from the city. Her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke, Before Sunrise), a laid-back college professor, is totally on board, and the couple departs from their Sunset Park, Brooklyn apartment with their two kids, Rose (Farrah Mackenzie, Utopia) and Archie (Charlie Evans, Everything is Gonna Be Okay). The house is luxurious, with a heated pool not far from the beach and enough privacy to make the family feel like they have been granted entry into the secret world of wealth. The vacation is off to a beautiful start even though some strange happenings occur as the couple settles down for the night; the owner of the property, G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali, Moonlight), and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la, Industry) arrive. The father and daughter share that there’s a blackout in NYC, and instead of heading home to the Upper East Side from G.H. ‘s philanthropic event at the symphony (he’s on the board), they head out to their country house until the blackout is over.
The script is co-written by Rumaan Alam and Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) and is a lean, mean storytelling machine. Not one moment is wasted, and every moment has meaning. Leave the World Behind is based on a book by Rumaan Alam, and after seeing this film, I most definitely will be reading the book. I love Julia Roberts, always have, and always will, and it’s nice to see her back playing vacation Karen, AKA Amanda. As Clay Ethan Hawke gets the Brooklyn liberal white guy down to a T. This couple is realistically distanced from their teenage years. Farrah Mackenzie plays Rose with authenticity. There’s something about her eyes and expression that draws you in. The great thing about each character in this film is they are all well-written. Each one has a journey that makes you care what happens to them.
As a father-daughter team, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la as G. H and Ruth are hands down my favorite actors in the film. Ruth is tenacious and wise and has the most common sense in the film. G.H. and Ruth’s relationship is healthy, and you can easily see their bond. I also love how the writers reflect on the parenting differences between G.H. and his wife and how Amanda and Clay coddle their kids. I also love how the film doesn’t shy away from the dynamic between Rose and Amanda. Amanda is entitled and believes she and her family are the center of the world. She lacks empathy and then feels guilty when she realizes she is a horrible person. Ruth is unafraid of holding up a mirror to Amanda and telling her exactly what she thinks about her. Behind all of her self-assured strength, Ruth is still a young woman who needs parenting and is fully aware that she’s still a young person while embracing her love for her parents and their wisdom. I love the choices the writers and actors made… all around stellar. The score, paired with the cinematography, hints at Alfred Hitchcock in all the best ways. Several wise Black people moments, mainly from Ruth, made me laugh out loud.
The film is grounded in realism, and I love that it discards all of the tropes we usually see in these kinds of films when there are multi-racial casts and the white characters are centered. Leave the World Behind is storytelling at its best. I give this film 5 out of 5 tomatoes. Don’t miss it.
Leave the World Behind is now streaming on Netflix.
