Apocalyptic Netflix thriller with VERY star-studded cast available NOW on platform… with ‘obsessed’ viewers lauding the ‘eerie and unsettling’ film just hours after release
A new Netflix thriller starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke is now streaming on the platform after a limited theatrical release in November.
Leave The World Behind also stars Mahershala Ali, Myha'la Herrol and Kevin Bacon as two vacationing families fight for survival amid a global catastrophe – based on the 2020 book of the same name by Rumaan Alam.
The response to the film was largely positive, with some even waking up in the early morning hours to watch the film before going to work.
The trailer opened with Hawke's character Clay Sandford opening the door to their Long Island vacation home to find GH Scott (Ali) dressed in a tuxedo and his wife Ruth (Herrol) in an evening gown.
“I'm so sorry to bother you,” he tells Clay, and when Roberts (as Amanda Sandford) arrives at the door, GH surprises them both by saying, “You must be Amanda.”
Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke play parents who learn of a global catastrophe while on vacation in Netflix's Leave The World Behind
The film, which is now streaming on Netflix after a limited theatrical debut, initially received mostly positive responses
Those who woke up early to see the thriller as soon as possible were not disappointed.
On
'Did I wake up at half past four so I could watch Leave the World Behind before work? I've been waiting for this for months… of course I did… The cinematography of 'Leave the World Behind' is so creepy and disturbing that I'm obsessed with it.”
Similarly, another user added that the new streaming release had “disturbed me to my core,” while someone else simply said, “I loved it.”
The 2 hour and 20 minute feature has a 'certified verse' Rotten tomatoes critics score 74 percent, with a viewership rating of 83 percent.
Another viewer agreed with this positive review, saying, “The cinematography of 'Leave the World Behind' is so creepy and disturbing that I'm obsessed with it.”
Similarly, someone else added that the new streaming release had “disturbed me to my core,” while someone else simply said, “I loved it.”
The film is peppered with questionable moments from the characters, with the Sandford children seeking reassurance from their parents, who do their best to accommodate.
What is initially presented as a massive wave of cyber attacks in the US turns out to be something much more sinister, with even the island's deer acting out by surrounding the holiday home and staring at the residents.
Ethan Hawke, Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali are depicted in the film
With Christmas just weeks away, Leave The World Behind could be top of people's list for a break from festive entertainment this coming month.
About the film, Julia said: “It's kind of this Jenga metaphor. We played this game in the movie and you feel like you have these people's lives and they seem very solid, and as every little piece falls away and things are revealed, the imbalance starts to come into play in the house. [for] these characters'.
Director Sam Esmail reiterated, “The big theme is really this idea of how we quickly lose sight of our common humanity in the face of crisis, which I find so relevant…
'I read the book in the early days of the pandemic and it was obviously incredibly relevant at the time, it really manifested itself right before my eyes, and even today with everything going on in the world it feels just as relevant …
“And that was really the umbrella under which everything else – from racism, to classism, to our dependence on technology – lies.”
Charlie Evans and Farrah Mackenzie also star in the film