Leave The World Behind gives a thrilling look at what could happen to society, in this case even a small group of people, should the entire country lose internet access. It’s a simple premise that, on the surface, may seem like a dull film. Yet, when you really dive into the movie, it’s much deeper and more interesting than that. It also helps when you employ an all-star cast to hammer the point home.
The film follows the Sandford family, led by the incredibly talented Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, as they set out to go on vacation at a local AirBnB away from the city with their family. Yet, almost immediately into their trip, things start acting weird. the wifi/internet access stops working, mega transport ships are getting beached due to “faulty navigation systems” and tv signals revert to static. Things get even weirder for the Sandfords when G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) show up annanounced at the house.
The Scott’s claim to be the actual owners of the home, and they’ve come home due to the same weird things happening across NYC. There’s predictably plenty of doubt and thrilling mystery in the air. It’s played into well by the veteran actors and really sets up what the first act of the film is all about. Not unlike how Barbarians intro is all about strangers feeling out other strangers’ true intentions, Leave The World Behind dives headfirst into this narrative.
Yet, as more details about their situation slowly unfold, they learn that they’re all a part of something much bigger, and much more dangerous.
The presence of these highly skilled, veteran actors across the film (Kevin Bacon even shows up as a doomsday prepper type) really lends to the air of intrigue the film wants to accomplish so badly. Ethan Hawke is wonderful as the slightly bumbling, all to trusting father to the Sandfords, and Ali and Myha’la play well off each other as the frustrated daughter to the dad’s calm-yet-mistrusting demeanor.
Now, for the actual plot, I think the film does well to keep things a mystery throughout most of the runtime. Most of the point of the film is that no one knows what’s going on, and without access to the internet, everyone is just as in the dark as the audience.
That’s not to say the plot is perfect though, as the ending really felt a bit of a mess and there is a weird storyline with deer that just doesn’t seem necessary. Yet, I still enjoyed the look into what would happen societally if everyone was cut off from the internet all at once.
Final Thoughts
Leave The World Behind is an interesting, albeit flawed, look at society in the wake of a modern disaster, seen through the lens of two very different families. There’s a lot to like and dislike about a movie of this scope. But I enjoyed it, however divisive it may seem. It’s definitely worth the watch for the acting alone if the concept doesn’t immediately grab you.
