When Barack Obama is producing a film about the government creating a false flag that will lead to a civil war, you should pay attention.

A Northeastern family wakes up one day and decides to take an unplanned vacation to a rental house on Long Island while the husband and wife are trying to unwind from their timid lives and a series of odd events begin to happen. An oil tanker crashes into the beach for no reason as the family tries to figure out what happened, they are met at the door by the owners of the home who claim that they need to spend the night due to a blackout that is taking out most of their Communications.

With no internet and no idea what’s going on, the group tries to make the best of what they have despite dealing with the feeling that somebody is hiding something. Things get worse as news reports of a blackout, a hacker attack, and possibly terrorist activity create a situation of chaos and uncertainty for everyone involved.

With no patience and fewer answers, the group begins to fall apart as they realize what is happening is not happenstance but a coordinated attack from an enemy that they can’t see. When dealing with a film that has a mystery to be solved, the reveal of that mystery can very well break a movie.

‘Leave the World Behind’ does a pretty impressive job of keeping the audience intrigued with its storyline for most of its runtime. A film that stretches 144 minutes will have you wondering to the very end the mystery of what is happening. Julia Roberts plays a very neurotic and stressed-out mother who is known to not have a good relationship with other people. The yin to her Yang is Ethan Hawke, who’s more of a laid-back loving dad who tends not to stress out as much as his wife. 

Their kids aren’t very demanding except for it comes to watching old episodes of Friends. Tension rises when Ali’s character moves in with his daughter and the trust of both groups begins to evaporate. If you’re going into this movie expecting carnage, you’re going to be disappointed because the film plays around with themes of paranoia and the unknown. As a result, the audience is allowed to take a ride with the storytelling as they’re trying to figure out what’s going on at the same rate that our characters are.

When you have four Academy Award-nominated actors in the film the acting is going to be the strong point of the movie and from a story perspective, you’re looking at a movie that mirrors the last three years of this country. A group of people sitting at home wondering when things are going to go back to normal only to conclude that things will never come back to normal.

The film falls short in the conclusion because the mystery is only as good as it’s revealed. If audiences are going to be along for the ride for over 2 hours, they want a satisfying conclusion and I don’t think this film gives it to them. When it comes to the audience, public opinion is going to be pretty split on this movie based on how you view the ending.

Leave the World Behind does more positive than negative however it drops the ball on being something that could have been memorable on a streaming service that needs the quality. A great takeoff but a rough landing still leaves the film worthy of a recommendation.

3.5/5

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