MOVIE That I Just Saw: “Leave the World Behind”

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“Leave the World Behind” (Netflix), psychological thriller film, based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam. Premise: A family vacation on Long Island is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout. As the threat grows more imminent, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.



       Apocalypse is not a new theme in cinema. Name some: Dr Strangelove, Time Barrier, Battle of the Worlds, The Road, Days Later, Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow, Interstellar, A Boy and His Dog, Deep Impact. Many more. So I am sure you are not so excited by this movie's pitch.

       But since movies these days are mostly about boring superheroes, endless convoluted prequels, “correct” remakes, and contrived wokeness, I simply minded only TV series features. This movie’s director Sam Esmail pissed me off with his eerie sound editing experimentation in “Mr Robot” though I dug his camera angling innovations in “Homecoming, Season 1.” Tough for another risk. 

       So when named, bankable stars emerge from the heap of color-coded star hypes--such as Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and a bit role by Kevin Bacon–I wanna check it out. Besides, ex-prez Barack Obama and wife Michelle are co-executive producers of this feature. Might as well see. 

       Esmail did a Jordan Peele by way of Alfred Hitchcock shaker here and it worked fine although we’ve seen that one, been there. But we already know how’d this gonna play out, right? Only, the macabre (im)plausibility of the (geo)political conspiracy theory makes sense, wanna argue that? I mean, Mr Obama sank his foot on this one, uh huh. 🎥💻📽

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