Imagine a scenario where, during the nighttime, someone knocks on the door of your rented home. They claim to be the owner and urgently request entry due to an emergency. This individual appears to be amicable, dressed in a formal tuxedo, and accompanied by their daughter, yet they are unable to provide any identification.
In the gripping thriller "Leave The World Behind" there are multiple instances that compel you to ponder your response in similar circumstances. This film, an adaptation of Rumaan Alam's best-selling novel of the same name, revolves around a family outing that is overshadowed by confusing events, putting everyone involved to the test.
"I wouldn’t even open the door," laughs Julia Roberts in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) in London. The Hollywood superstar plays Amanda Sandford, an advertising executive from New York City who has booked a weekend in a luxury villa on Long Island for herself and her family for a weekend. The nearest neighbors are miles away.
Along with her university professor husband Clay Ethan Hawke and their children Archie Charlie Evans and Rose Farrah Mackenzie, Amanda wants "to leave the world behind" such is the slogan for the holiday home’s promotional brochure.
Tension, fear
Neither the internet, telephones nor televisions work on site. Walking on the beach, the family witnesses a strange event when a huge tanker heads directly to the shore and runs aground. The viewer quickly understands one thing: There’s something wrong here.
"It’ll make people nervous," said director and script author Sam Esmail with a grin, discussing his film. "When I think about the moments, we’re trying to create a sense of suspense or fear, instead of trying to manufacture it I try and channel what may already be there in the audience," he added.
It’s something the creator of the "Mr. Robot" series does to perfection.
The kids are already asleep and Amanda and Clay are having a drink when there’s a knock on the door. A man (Mahershala Ali) wearing a tuxedo introduces himself as George, the villa’s owner. He says there has been a complete electricity blackout in New York City so for safety reasons he and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) have driven here. He asks if they can spend the night and offers them a discount.
Amanda is skeptical and almost hostile, but Clay convinces his wife to help the strangers. It’s left to the viewers whether racism is a factor here.
Julia Roberts no longer plays sweetheart roles which once made her so famous. Amanda is difficult and not always likable, something which in this extreme situation can well be understood. Roberts, herself a mother of three, can relate to her stressed-out character.
"I understand her being sort of suspicious and overprotective. She does have her two children in the house and it is the middle of the night and all these things," Roberts says. "She is just trying to process and make sense of things that don’t make any sense, and it’s not bringing out the most charming side of her."
Run of eerie events
The same evening, the television comes on again: The U.S. has declared a state of national emergency. Just what has happened is not clear. But George knows more than the others. The next day the eerie incidents multiply – deafening noises, drones distributing leaflets, the sudden appearance of wild animals, a plane crash. A scene with self-driving Tesla cars is one of the highlights. Amid it all, fear, tension, and mistrust spread in the luxury villa.
Early on, the film develops a very uneasy atmosphere, credit for this going to the original camera angles and the menacing music score by Mac Quayle "Mr. Robot", and "American Horror Story." Esmail has very recognizably been inspired by the master of the thriller genre, Alfred Hitchcock, the director of such spine-tinglers as "Psycho" and "The Birds." "Of course I am," he admits. "If there’s a filmmaker out there that says they are not inspired by Hitchcock, I’d say they’re lying."
The 46-year-old explains what he especially loves about Hitchcock films: "Even though he could make films on a grand scale spectacle, he really makes you invested in the characters and he makes them the front and center of the film," he said, noting that this is what he was aiming for in this film.
"It’s a disaster film, but the characters are sort of the center of the story, and the disaster elements are secondary and kind of pushed off into the distance."
The fact that the actual disaster is so far away and you are left guessing what has happened until the open end is an important aspect of the suspense.
High-caliber cast
Oscar prize winner Roberts "Erin Brockovich" and two-time Oscar winner Ali "Moonlight," "Green Book," along with the four-time Oscar nominee Hawke are at their best in "Leave The World Behind." The desperation and helplessness of the protagonists is palpable.
All it takes is for one of them to look out of the window in fear to convey the sense of danger. Kevin Bacon shines in a supporting role as Danny, a prepper and possible conspiracy theorist – or does he perhaps know more than the others?
"Leave The World Behind" is an intelligently made and highly suspenseful thriller that is as tense as it is thought-provoking. The Netflix production which was released on Dec. 8, whose executive producers include former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, was unfortunately only shown in cinemas for a short time to qualify for next year’s Oscars.