The Leave the World Behind author explains the film’s controversial ending

Warning – major spoilers ahead leave the world behind you

leave the world behind youNetflix’s new disaster thriller directed by Mr. Robot The creator, Sam Esmail, ends on a very ambiguous note.

The film – an adaptation of Roman Alam’s 2020 novel – follows Amanda and Clay Sandford, played by Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, who take their children Rose and Archie (Farrah MacKenzie and Charlie Evans) on a weekend getaway to Long Island, New York. .

While there, the owner of their luxury rental home, J.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Mihala Herold) return to the property under mysterious circumstances, claiming that a catastrophic event has rocked the town.

The two families are forced to live together in the house as society rapidly collapses after the technological infrastructure, from phones to televisions, begins to crumble.

While various ideas about the roots of this catastrophe have been put forward — Russia, Iraq, and North Korea have all been put forward — the film never reveals who the aggressor was or even whether or not there was an aggressor.

He ends up watching Rose friends Alone in the basement of one of their neighbors’ homes on Long Island. The film’s ambiguous conclusion drew criticism from some viewers, who complained that it was “too abrupt.”

The film’s ending is a departure from Alam’s novel, which ends with Rose gathering supplies from home before returning to her family.

In a new interview with diversethe author, who also serves as the film’s executive producer, addressed Ishmael’s ending as “extremely satisfying.”

“To end the jolt of special humor that [Esmail] “What he does is very satisfying and very rewarding,” he said. “It’s kind of self-reflective because he’s a filmmaker. He’s also worked in television, and it kind of underscores the power of that medium, and the control it has over this one character.”

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“I say it’s funny, but I don’t think it’s a joke. I don’t think it’s a joke on Rose. I don’t think it’s a joke on the audience. I don’t think it’s a joke friends. It’s a reminder that art is a kind of salve. The theatrical experience of watching this movie is so powerful because I’ve had the opportunity to see the audience respond to the ending three times now, and no one really knows what they’re going to make of it. They say, is this funny? Is this scary? Is it really over? And I like it very much.

When asked why it was important not to give viewers closure at the end of the film, Alam replied: “Wouldn’t that be so unsatisfying? It’s a film that respects you as a viewer enough not to give that. In that last scene between Julia and Mihala, they don’t hug. Even before that When they’re in that little shed and they’re coming to terms, Ruth admits that there’s some truth to the things Amanda said, and that they agree on something, but it doesn’t end in an agreement. A hug. It’s not that kind of story.

“I have no problem with a big disaster movie that rescues the six or eight directors and reunites them in the aftermath of the disaster and allows you to say, ‘Okay, everything’s going to be okay.’ I don’t think that’s that kind of movie.”

In her four-star review of The IndependentClarice Loughrey writes: “Ishmael goes big and bold with his references to Hitchcock and his showy camera work…And yet nothing shows Ishmael’s hand more fully than Rose’s alchemist-like reliance on… friends, a show that Ruth describes as “nostalgia for a time that never existed.” Yes, it’s ironic that the series is currently available on Netflix, but that’s exactly the kind of completely modern hypocrisy. leave the world behind you Enjoying.”

Although the film quickly rose to number one on Netflix, it currently has an audience rating of just 42% on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, with viewers making similar complaints.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is being mocked for complaining about Tesla’s “inaccuracies” featured in the film.

leave the world behind you Available to stream on Netflix now.