Leave the World Behind
2023
****
Director: Sam Esmail
Cast: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon, Myha’la Herrold, Charlie Evans, Farrah Mackenzie, Craig Henningsen, Marcia DeBonis, Reynaldo Piniella
Two families unfamilar to each other are forced to take shelter in a house when the world outside seems to fall apart. As the families lose communication, they are faced with rising tensions, fear, and paranoia. Sam Esmail's adaptation of Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel is a long but suspenseful psychological disaster movie that focuses on the individuals rather than the crisis itself. The gripping but derivative story delivers a mix of The Trigger Effect, Us, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Civil War. The ambiguous ending will either make you laugh or cry.
