LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

The Netflix mystery/thriller LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND did a very limited theatrical run in Los Angeles and New York, but it’s a hot ticket on Netflix’s streaming service, not only because it has a highly acclaimed quartet of award-caliber stars heading the cast, but also because it’s the first fictional feature movie produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. As such, it’s drawing lots of debate about its racial messaging, but viewers who give the movie a real chance will wind up seeing a positive portrayal of people putting away their racial biases to come together and help each other survive a life-threatening crisis.

Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) are a happily married couple with two teenage children named Rose and Archie, but the stress of living amid the teeming metropolis of New York City is wearing Amanda down. She finds a lavish vacation home on Air BnB and takes her family on a surprise trip for a weekend of peaceful relaxation near a forest.

The family’s solitude is short-lived, however. A major cyberattack on America knocks out wifi and puts New York City into a blackout. Late at night, a black man named George (Mahershala Ali) shows up in a tux alongside his adult daughter, Ruth, begging to be let in as they flee the blackout. George claims he is the owner of the house, but when Clay asks for his ID, he claims he left it amid the chaos in New York City.

However, seeing the father and daughter appear well-dressed and knowing it’s a terrifying world outside, Amanda and Clay warily welcome them in and have George and Ruth stay in a basement

guest room. While Amanda’s fears are natural to anyone in that kind of situation, it’s subtly implied she’s also scared of George and Ruth partly because they’re black, while Ruth privately tells George that if calamity occurs, white people shouldn’t be trusted.

Ruth’s expressed attitude has drawn heavy criticism from some in conservative media, but the movie is surprisingly un-woke and becomes powerfully positive as the story progresses. As the two families try to figure out how bad the world outside is crashing, all sorts of strange and scary occurrences befall them. For example, an oil tanker rams into a beach where they and dozens of other people were sitting, and a jet plane careens out of the sky and crash lands right behind one of the lead characters.

Add in very bizarre behavior by a wide range of animals, ear-piercing noises that maddeningly appear out of nowhere, and hundreds of unmanned Teslas wreaking havoc on a freeway, and you’ve got a movie that’s always edge-of-your-seat riveting to watch. Some of the strangest events’ logic seems off, but the situations are original and incredibly well-shot with stunning visual effects, and the movie’s tense ride to an uncertain solution winds up working perfectly.

The proceedings are helped immensely by the Oscar-winning Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali, the Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke and Golden Globe-winning Kevin Bacon, who has a smaller but important role as a doomsday prepper who must be won over in order to save the life of one of Amanda’s teenagers. This is top-notch filmmaking from top to bottom.

Be warned, however, that some viewers may find the movie’s strange last scene frustrating, but the final moments give a sense of hope for the future and show how entertainment provides comfort in the worst of times.

Aside from its frequent fright-filled moments, the movie is marred by excessive foul language including nearly 40 “f” words, several strong profanities and some other, milder examples. The movie also has brief, light sexual references.

Yet, amid our tension-filled present-day world, LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND serves up an intelligent script with a heartfelt vision of racial reconciliation. So, in the end, the movie provides some excellent viewing for some, but extreme caution is advised.