‘Leave The World Behind’ Review: Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali in Spooky Disaster Movie Almost Home – AFI Film Fest Opening

The opening scenes of Leave the world behind shows us a seemingly average American family heading out for a fun vacation and all seems well until something very strange happens during a trip to the beach where a very large ship called the White Lion gets closer and closer and eventually crashes . stops when it hits the sand, causing everyone nearby to frantically run out of the way. You immediately think: “Okay, this ship and whoever is on it is going to play a big role in the fate of this family.” And although this is the first sign that something is wrong in the world, it is only a dark one Indication that the catastrophe is emerging in a clearer form.

It seems that this family has rented a beautifully decorated, luxurious and modern multi-story beach house and, despite the sea incident, has no desire to ruin their free time. Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) seems more focused on things than her largely ignorant but compassionate husband Clay (Ethan Hawke), a passive man less likely to act even when strange events occur. The youngest child, Rose (Farrah Mackenzie), is the first to notice strange things Friends-Repetitive and TV-obsessed child sees scary signals from TV. The family also has a son, Archie (Charlie Evans), but late at night unexpected visitors turn up and mysteriously knock on the door. Cautiously dressed in tuxedos and gowns, it turns out to be GH Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his very opinionated and strong-willed daughter Ruth (Myha’la). The Sandfords don’t exactly welcome them with open arms as they don’t know what to make of the break-in. The race rears its head in subtle ways and these are people who appear out of nowhere and want to spend the night because they also know there are inexplicable forces at work and they need to seek protection. This involves the revelation that GH Scott is actually the owner of the property, who must prove it in concrete ways, and that he not only wants to stay there, but also wants to take control of his tenants.

Director Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) previously worked with Roberts on the series, Homecoming and both found this material a perfect opportunity to collaborate again, especially since the Rumaan Alam book on which Esmail’s adaptation is based is so highly regarded. Esmail approaches the whole thing less like a typical disaster movie, in which a group of disparate people find themselves in catastrophic circumstances, a cyber attack over which they have no control, but more in terms of a social sensation – thinks Hitchcock North Northwest meet the Kubrick of The glow And 2001 meets the paranoia of a 70s drama like Pakula The parallax vision. Undoubtedly, no matter what genre you want to put it in, Leave the world behind has a lot to say about the fragile state of our current planet and the freewheeling technology we increasingly rely on but which also threatens to swallow us up, and not in a good way. Chris Harvey and his special effects team skillfully show us how each of these characters fall down the rabbit hole of fear, doubt, mistrust and other emotions. Maybe the situation has gotten out of hand and they haven’t entered the Twilight Zone yet. , but rather the reality of the chaos we have created for ourselves.

The trick is that Esmail doesn’t let the characters get overwhelmed by the effects, as so often happens when the earthquake strikes or the tower goes up in flames, but rather the strengths and weaknesses of each bubble come to the surface and keep us guessing whoever wants is at the end. Far into the second half of the film, survivalist Danny (Kevin Bacon) shows up with a gun in tow, complicating matters even further.

The film that opened AFI Fest on Wednesday night is an engaging and entertaining ride on the surface, but one that unequivocally serves as a warning to all of humanity. When I noticed that Barack and Michelle Obama were listed among the executive producers in the credits, I immediately recognized the deeper message that led them to bring their Higher Ground production company to the project (the former president was also a major fan of the book). . ). It has more on its heart than most films of its kind, and Netflix has positioned it not only as a coveted AFI Fest opening film, but also as a Thanksgiving theatrical release and a holiday streaming debut.

Roberts gets an interesting wife to play here, who doesn’t always show her hand, but is a step ahead and better suited to Ali’s character than her own husband, who is the kind of person who feels more comfortable doing nothing , unless there is an urge to push. Hawke plays him well, but Ali presents a more subtle challenge as a black man who has undoubtedly endured a lot to reach his current position in life in a very fraught society. Myha’la is excellent as a vivacious millennial who plays by a different set of rules (in the book, the character was Ruth Scott’s wife, but now he’s shifted to his daughter for generational reasons). Bacon takes what could have been a monotonous Backwoods type and gives it more dimension than you’d expect, especially in the limited screen time.

Producers are Esmail, Roberts, Chad Hamilton, Marisa Yeres Gill and Lisa Gillan.

Title: Leave the world behind
Festival: AFI Party
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: November 22, 2023 (theaters); December 8, 2023 (stream)
Director-Screenwriter: Sam Esmail
Form: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Kevin Bacon, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans
Rating: R
Time: 2 hours 18 minutes