‘Leave the World Behind‘ is a psychological thriller film starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon, Mahershala Ali, and Myha’la. It is based on the 2020 novel written by Rumaan Alam that revolves around cyberattacks and environmental disasters happening in parts of the world.
The story revolves around Sandfords who book a stay at a vacation home, unfortunately, their trip takes a disastrous turn when a massive cyber attack takes out the internet and communications networks. Surprisingly, the homeowner G.H. Scott, and his daughter Ruth return home unexpectedly. Both families find it challenging to trust each other amidst the strange and apocalyptic events including plane crashes and car collisions, herds of deer emerging into the backyard, and an obsession with ‘Friends’ finale. But people have been debating about the movie’s mysterious ending. Here’s what it all means.
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‘Leave The World Behind’ Ending Explored
The Sandfords and the Scotts don’t trust each other and don’t wish to stay in the same house until they realize they have to settle their differences to survive. However, towards the end, each character arc becomes the backbone of the film’s agenda of humanity. Amanda and Clay’s son Archie wakes up to find his teeth falling out, while their daughter Rose goes missing.
G.H. and Clay go off to find help from neighbor Danny, only to return with a warning and a possible explanation for Archie’s condition, suggesting it might be due to a microwave weapon with powerful radiation.
While the world is falling apart, Rose just wants to see the ‘Friends’ finale to see how it all ends. Towards the end of ‘Leave The World Behind’, Rose breaks into a neighbor’s bunker only to find a set of ‘Friends‘ DVDs and watches the last episode with its theme song playing during the credits. An Emergency Alert System interceptor reveals that the U.S. is at war with rogue armed forces looking to overthrow the government, which Amanda and Ruth watch from afar. The film ends with Rose finally watching the ‘Friends’ finale amidst the chaos and terror.
What Does ‘Friends’ Finale Symbolize In The Netflix Film?
From the beginning, the audience is aware of Rose’s obsession with ‘Friends’, which indeed serves as a theme and meta-commentary till the end. While the world goes haywire, Rose just wants to watch the show’s finale to see how it all ends which signifies escapism and comfort.
Rose finally got the chance to run away towards the end of the film. She breaks into Thornes’ house and eats comfort food. While lurking around, she stumbles into the bunker’s massive DVD collection which includes ‘Friends’. As everyone else is discovering and panicking that New York City is being bombed, she starts the finale, ‘The Last One’, which also inspired the title of Part V. While the entire place seemed to have shunned technology, it was the very thing that allowed her to escape, providing a strong symbolism.
The finale also lines well the the title of the film, as the name suggests “Leave the World Behind”, Rose does the same escaping into the bunker, leaving her family behind, being separated from the rest of the world, and watching the ‘Friends’ finale in solitude.
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Why Do The Animals Act Weird?
Amanda and Clay see a herd of deer in the backyard prompting Clay to say seeing deer is a good omen according to Mesoamerican mythology, but obviously, it’s not a good sign of things that succeed it. While the deer aren’t the only animals to appear on the property, they certainly create the most ominous atmosphere. Then flamingos land in the pool, and flocks of birds are seen flying throughout the movie. Towards the end, the deer even surround Ruth and Amanda in a threatening manner.
The nature of the attack isn’t clear, but the oil tanker crashing into the beach in the initial part of the film might indicate the unordinary behavior of the animals. Since animals can sniff off potential danger before their occurrence, it can be one of the reasons why they are acting weird.
Is The Film Finale Different From ‘Leave The World Behind’ Book?
The original book written by Rumann Alam has a rather vague ending. Netflix’s ‘Leave the World Behind‘ went through a couple of changes like the self-driving Teslas crashing on the road. G.H.’s wife is replaced by their daughter and the ending where Rose watches the ‘Friends‘ finale was added in the movie adaptation only.
In than e interview with Vulture, director Sam Esmail explained the creative changes in ‘Leave the World Behind‘s ending on screen. He said, “because the story was being told through a movie, it needed a more concrete explanation with just enough mystery still left unsolved.”
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