Leave the World Behind (2023)
Leave your expectations behind.
Presentation:
Sam Esmail prominently implements a few elements from previous works including dutch angles and placing subjects in the corner or edges of the frame. The film was shot with Sony Venice and anamorphic lenses. The visuals were quite clinical Rec709 looking, which quite fit the slick camera movement. The dialogue is bad and the actors perform as if they are coming back from a long retirement.
Story:
The film has a lot of painful Gen Z pacing and dialogue, which can be a bit overdone at times. The script can be quite didactic, many of the issues seem aimed at low hanging fruit. These include "people are bad/the US has made a lot of enemies/racial elements" suggested within the story, but were not pervasive enough to completely detract from the story compared to bigger offenders from Netflix. However for some, this is really teetering on the edges of whether this film is entertainment or doctrinal. I am a fan of Sam Esmail and Mac Quayle (soundtrack) for their work on Mr. Robot, however i found this be a little lazy. Perhaps Esmail is more used to long form character development from TV series, because i didn't find myself caring much for the characters in this shorter format. This is perhaps because they are given too much explicit dialogue with the only likable character being George. The story itself can permit a meaningful discussion afterward, however, the film does not feel nearly as memorable when better apocalyptic films like It Comes at Night exist with similar themes of mistrust. Despite the dark undertones of the plot, the film ends frivolously attempting to make you conclude that the film doesn't take itself too seriously despite cheap forced themes throughout. The film tries a bit too hard to be thematically artsy without meaningful storytelling. The only difference between this film and others is that it has a modern twist at a vacation home as opposed to a cabin in the woods.
Conclusion:
Could be worth a watch, but I wouldn't put it high on your list. This is mindless slop on Netlix and I’m surprised Barack Obama would even attach his name to this.
Recommendations
The best looking black and white film?