Leave the World Behind (2023)

Leave the World Behind (2023) is a very special, very mysterious film with a rather unsettling atmosphere reminiscent of M Night Shyamalan.

A post-apocalyptic psychological thriller, but not your typical one! Written and directed by Sam Esmail. It is an adaptation of the novel published in 2020 by Rumaan Alam. It stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, and Kevin Bacon.

I was immediately drawn into this film. There was no time or opportunity to get bored at such a fast pace.
But once again, I wondered whether I was wasting my time or not. Because to make an excellent film of this kind, the ending must not fall flat. It has to be excellent, not disappointing.

Alas… I was still half disappointed. I was expecting a lot more. We don’t necessarily get all our answers. On the other hand, there’s a glimmer of hope… and that’s good.

I’m a huge fan of Ethan Hawke and have been for a very long time. Ever since I discovered Dead Poets Society and Dad (both 1989). I loved seeing him as a horrible character in Taking Lives (2004), as a cowboy in the remake The Magnificent Seven (2016), as a family man in the horrible American Nightmare – The Purge (2013). I also liked Regression (2015) which is a very good Crime Thriller and Sinister (2012) which is a good Horrific Crime Thriller.

Surprisingly, I’m not a huge Julia Roberts fan… although I do love Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) and Stepmom (1998). I like The Pelican Brief (1993) and Conspiracy Theory (1997). And, no, I’ve got nothing against Pretty Woman (1990), on the contrary!

What’s more, a film without her mythical smile is a film with a big hole in it! Here she is reunited with Kevin Bacon, who was already with her in the excellent Flatliners (1990). Kevin is always unpredictable… and we’re always on our guard with him! I first discovered this incredible actor in The River Wild (1994). Since then, I’ve enjoyed countless films with him, including Sleepers (1996), Trapped (2002), Mystic River (2003), Death Sentence (2007), The Woodsman (2004) and even X-Men: First Class (2011)!

I also really enjoyed Mahershala Ali & Myha’la here. I don’t think I knew them before. Not more than this, anyway.

There are certain phrases I use all the time. For example, I often say that the best music groups all have instrumental tracks. But I also regularly say that dance scenes in (non-musical) films are often some of the best scenes. And there’s plenty of that here!

We also get to see quite a few animals, which is not at all unpleasant as far as I’m concerned. The film has a kind of permanent tension, which makes a change from all those stupid easy jumpscares in all those other films. Everything comes into play here: ecology, the hatred of Americans and the hatred created against them around the world, the likelihood of other enemy countries uniting (reminiscent of the BRICS, of course!).
Of course, the film also slams the technology that has made us thoughtless.

The dialogue is quite interesting, even profound. The film is beautifully directed and the camera moves beautifully. But these movements are as extraordinary as they are pointless for the story, I think.

People who hated the acting are, once again, confusing bad actors with insufferable characters. No, these high-calibre actors are not resting on their laurels!

If you’re watching the film for Kevin Bacon, he only appears for ten minutes.

The big problem with this film is its overly disappointing ending. Although clearly dramatic and, as I said above, with the requisite pleasant glimmer of hope, it left me wanting more. I would have liked to know more. There are several phenomena for which we’re waiting for an explanation (the pink flamingos, the deer, the infernal noise, etc), but the film stops just as the story really begins!

At the moment, sloppy endings are all the rage, especially when you have a minimum of expectations, without being too demanding either. That said, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s sloppy and deliberately done to mock the viewer, but I was trying to convince myself that there would be a surprise ending or something really interesting to explain everything we see during the film… but no!

And that’s where it all gets interesting!!! Yes, let me explain:

Leave the World Behind is a nihilistic rollercoaster that’s very well done and original. I could give it 5 stars just to boost its reputation a bit in the face of all the negative reviews on other sites. I’m so sorry to see these negative reviews, which are rather symbolic of our current world and, in the end, it’s normal not to understand the film. It’s as if you can’t, or simply aren’t allowed to, make a slow film that focuses on the psychology of the characters.

Yes, there are no real answers to the whys and wherefores, but that’s obviously not the point of the film! The film is primarily concerned with people’s reactions to such a situation. The fear of disconnection, but also the racism embedded in US society (and not only in the US, obviously!), are some of the real subjects of the film.

Some of the special effects are quite good, but that’s not the point of the film either. This isn’t a classic disaster movie, with explosions and chases every 30 seconds! Nor are there any heroes who reveal themselves, run around in slow motion and save the world. No, just ordinary people like you and me, neither glorious nor very sympathetic, grappling with incomprehensible and disturbing phenomena.

Those looking for action at all costs and twists and turns will, as always, be disappointed, almost as much as those who like a mystery to be completely solved by the end of a film. Others will find, as I do, that what makes this story even more disturbing is precisely its bizarre but unfortunately plausible side. Because in the end, being attacked while not knowing who your attacker is, not understanding the events that strike you, remaining in total confusion and having to deal with this horrible uncertainty, is the closest thing to reality. And that’s what’s most frightening…

If you want a film where everything is obvious, in black and white, and you don’t have to think about anything, you’d better pass! Otherwise, go for it!