Shayna Smith

Leave the World Behind had beautiful filmography, strange characters, and a confusing plot. If you like watching unsettling movies then you will probably enjoy this one! My main frustration with the film is that the part of the plot that interested me the most fell flat. Julia Robert’s decides to book a spontaneous vacation for her family and they head to the location the same day. That evening the owner of the house and his daughter show up with a strange story that doesn’t add up, claiming there was a blackout and they felt more comfortable staying in their house. Julia Robert’s character is naturally suspicious of their story and their intentions. We learn pretty quickly that the strangers know more than they are letting on which increases the suspense. SPOILER: It turns out the owner of the house simply had a heads up that something bad was going to happen. This was definitely a let down as a viewer and I found myself questioning why he would have rented out his house the same day and then turned up that night when he had intel that something bad was about to happen in the country. Apparently the blackout was the confirmation he needed, but it still bothers me that he wouldn’t have been more cautious in the first place. This lack of planning continues to be a theme throughout. My other issue with the story is that the characters are all very isolated from one another, even the parents and their children seem to go off on their own constantly and are just waiting around for no apparent reason. No one is coming up with a plan of any kind. If I was in this scenario I wouldn’t let my family out of my sight, and I wouldn’t just sit around drinking wine by the pool. If there is any positive takeaway from this film I think it is that the strangers and Robert’s family developed a bond and were willing to endanger themselves to help each other. It took a long time for the characters to work together but they were able to rise above their distrust and help one another. Overall, I think this film chose an interesting idea but failed to make an interesting plot.