Ethan Hawke's Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Is Terrifying (But Not Realistic)

"Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail directed and co-wrote the 2023 semi-apocalyptic thriller "Leave the World Behind," delivering a grim portrayal of how a global cyberattack could quickly bring about societal collapse. The film stars Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke as Amanda and Clay Sanford, a New York City couple vacationing on Long Island with their two teenage children. Mahershala Ali and Myha'la also star as father and daughter G.H and Ruth Scott, the owners of the house rented by the Sanfords. "Leave the World Behind" is visually striking while still leaving much of the real action off-screen.It's also thematically different from other apocalyptic films like "Independence Day" or "The Day After Tomorrow," but it offers a scenario that's just as intense and frightening.

"Leave the World Behind" is subtle and suspenseful, with important questions that go unanswered until the last few scenes. There are ship and plane crashes, animals behaving strangely, and Kevin Bacon as G.H.'s paranoid prepper neighbor. With information scarce and cellular and Wi-fi service out, the ad-hoc sextet of main characters are slowly driven to a collective state of panic and despair. To some people, not having phone service or Wi-fi is practically the end of the world; in this story it's a sign of exactly that.

In an interview with Business Insider, cyberwarfare expert Chad Heitzenrater explained how such a complicated and widespread attack would be virtually impossible to pull off in real life. Of the numerous factors that need to line up for a perpetrator, he said "they're not guaranteed. So to have that many things you're going to act on, be that assured they're all going to work, and execute them ... that would be a really heavy lift for anybody, even for a nation-state."

Rumaan Alam's novel of the same name was a 2020 National Book Award finalist, and the film is largely faithful to Alam's book. Barack and Michelle Obama executive produced "Leave the World Behind" as the debut for their company Higher Ground Productions, and Variety reported that the former president was "personally invested in perfecting the film adaptation, so much so that he sent script notes to writer-director Sam Esmail." Esmail wrings a lot out of this premise by channelling the same kind of psychological darkness that infused "Mr. Robot" and "Homecoming," the latter of which also starred Julia Roberts. 

It's hard for most viewers to relate or root for the privileged and self-absorbed Sanford family, and their initial conflict with the Scotts doesn't reflect well on them either. The point of "Leave the World Behind" isn't to establish its main characters as heroes in a crisis, but the film is a thought-provoking brain exercise about how you might behave as civilization collapses around you. Life on earth will probably end when methane replaces oxygen in the air, but that could take billions of years. "Leave the World Behind" runs for just over 2 1/2 hours, but Esmail still leaves some of the questions that emerge without a definite answer. You can buy "Leave the World Behind" on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon or stream it free with a Netflix subcription.