
Netflix has done it again. Another film that has set the world talking. This time, it’s a pretty large production, full of A list stars and executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. With a brief theatrical run around Thanksgiving, it came to Netflix on December 8th, and instantly everyone was talking about the ending. Even my parents are dying to talk to me about the ending. I must give in then, as I do not want it spoiled like The Sixth Sense was all those years ago!
Synopsis:
A family’s getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices, and two strangers appear at their door.
IMDb: 6.5
Rotten Tomatoes:75%
Tagline: There’s No Going Back to Normal
Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) directed Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon, Mahershala Ali, and Myha’la in this apocalyptic psychological thriller film. The soundtrack is done by composer Mac Quayle, and perhaps it could be seen as a gimmick, but he only used 9 notes for the entire score.
First off, I do not like the title card, “Part 1: The House.” I assume there will be more parts, and I am not sure why the filmmaker thinks we are so stupid that we can’t figure out natural breaks in the story. This part is ONLY about the house. Does that mean the house isn’t in any other parts of the story?
Also, I think Ethan Hawke’s two front teeth are getting more and more crooked with each passing film. They’re like two tectonic plates grinding against each other with the inevitable earthquake not far behind.
For those keeping track, Part II: The Curve still features the same house.
And what is the fascination with the TV show Friends? If the little girl watched all the way to season 10, then how is it explained when the girl’s mother, JULIA fuckin’ ROBERTS, shows up in the episode, “The One After the Super Bowl?” Cause she was on the damn show! Is this an alternate reality where she WASN’T on the show?
Julia Roberts has huge nostrils. At least she doesn’t laugh much in this movie, so we don’t see her gigantic horse mouth. And she dances like Elaine from Seinfeld.
Also, I didn’t particularly notice the 9-note soundtrack, so it didn’t really leave an impression on me.
I did learn that CGI deer don’t frighten me much.
Thank God we have title cards to tell us what we are watching. “Part III: The Noise” was a little late in explaining what was happening, since the noise had already happened seconds before the title card. Luckily, I am a smart guy, and I was able to figure it out ahead of time. Yet I couldn’t understand the title card, “Part IV: The Flood,” considering it rained but there was no flood.
The movie is a bit of a slow burn, giving us snippets of information along the way, feeding us more questions than answers, amping up the tension, but without getting answers. The film is very dialogue heavy, with small bursts of action in between long conversations about what might be happening. It truly could have had 30 minutes cut out of it, but then again, every mainstream movie has to be over 2, preferably 3 hours long now. It’s like a new law or something.
Leave the World Behind is the equivalent to watching 6 seasons of Lost, intrigued, and totally salivating at the possibilities to the explanation, only to get to the ending and be completely dissatisfied.
I won’t give it away, but I don’t think there was any other way to end it. This whole thing could go on forever, never ending. This is the new way of life. You can’t have a twenty-hour movie that just keeps going on. They pretty much tell you what is going to happen, what more can you expect?
I do like that the little girl’s priority is completely different and more basic than the adults’ priorities.