Leave the World Behind

This is how I hoped to like Don't Look Up, but I didn't. Not even close. Leave the World Behind is a much more mysterious, clever, funny, better made and written film that actually accurately describes my feelings about the world today. Like Julia Roberts’s monologue in the shack. (12/10/2023)

This film is the kind that will have people either giving it one star or five. Essentially, nothing happens, but at the same time, everything does. It's an apocalypse in real-time where you learn nothing but are enveloped in an overwhelmingly tense atmosphere. The only downside is the lack of memorable scenes. However, the few that we get are absolutely phenomenal. I really appreciate how the filmmakers created a movie brimming with perfect tension from an atmosphere of complete uncertainty. As the movie approached its end, with a runtime exceeding two hours that flew by, I was almost dreading a typical American-style explanation that could ruin it. But to my immense relief, it didn’t happen. The film’s ending is just perfect, and very much fitting the genre. (12/27/2023)

Social satire, slowburn, the end of humanity. I love these sub genres and Sam Esmail is a god, being such a newcomer to filmmaking and making such a great flick, it's something you don’t often see. Along with Knock at the Cabin, Leave the World Behind can confidently rank among the best subgenre films of the year, one that leads us by the nose and keeps us in suspense from the first minutes. We don't know if it's an invasion, the apocalypse, world war, a cyber-attack or bioterrorism; we're given more than enough clues, each one hot enough to catch us off guard, but yet elusive enough that we're not immediately sure. Thus, we get to the final minutes with a bunch of clues in hand, but still sufficiently ignorant of the final denouement, and although a savvy viewer will have an inkling of how the film will end, nothing is still clear. Absolutely precise work with the mindfuck music (hello Us), the wonderfully strange shots, the acting that tightens the handful of characters the viewer is perfectly content with, and especially the gradual unravelling of the pieces of the puzzle until the final sombre, melancholic almost artfully played out finale. I'm not going to lie, the ending is not the boom the film might seem to be heading towards, but I'm still satisfied as I haven't been in a long time, these games with the viewer are the top of all genres for me, and I applaud with gusto and have to say I'll definitely be back. (12/11/2023)

From the same bag as Netflix’s Don’t Look Up and White Noise. And just as well aimed, but it misses the mark, as you would expect. Epistemic dialogue with a few existential ideas, though none of them are groundbreaking. Scenes of rising tension that boost the film’s drama, but every time they only give us hints as to what may be happening “out there”. And digital deer for a touch of mysticism, but without any meaningful incorporation into the plot structure. The elegant cinematography striving for inventiveness is appealing, but it doesn’t reach the level of Jordan Peel’s bold creativity. And the conversational aspect merely tries to involve sociology at the European or Asian level of screenwriting. Despite that, however, the film is entertaining and is fine to watch. And I also understand if some might find it an interesting alternative contribution to the disaster-movie genre. Because this is exactly how that could happen. (12/13/2023)

Sam Esmail serves up a slow platter of nervs with no easy answers. It will annoy everyone, but I always liked these questions and stories. A depressing drama with a satirical patina. The three-pronged attack is a very interesting theme. You'd think Europe would be entering the first phase, so good luck with that. A formally brilliant exercise, with great performances. Though they might as well have left the drunken dancing Julia Roberts on the cutting room floor. Since Netflix likes it long. P.S: A must for fans of Friends and Matthew Perry's death as a thoughtful marketing ploy? A joke worthy of Chandler. (12/09/2023)