Sam Esmail’s newest film, ‘Leave the World Behind’, will probe the depths to which people would go in order to maintain their own existence. The film, based on Rumaan Alam’s book 2020, stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Mahershala Ali, and is set in a dystopian future. As the release date draws closer, additional photographs are being released that reveal more of the drama.
Vanity Fair has released brand-new images from the psychological thriller, and they are both tense and ominous. Roberts may be seen sobbing her eyes out in the
Let ‘Leave the World Behind’ Surprise You in Ways You Never Thought Possible
In contrast to the usual fare of films about catastrophic events, Esmail chose to concentrate on the people involved. As Esmail puts it, “The focus—the priority of the storytelling—is on the set pieces,” which is why the filmmaker enjoys making catastrophe movies so much. He said, “It’s on the spectacle of whatever the disaster might be for that story, and the characters were secondary to that.” Rather than actively participating, their role is primarily as the “audience avatar.” For his future film, however, he knew he had to put the spotlight on the actors by saying, “The spectacle of the disaster is secondary and off in the distance.”
He adds, “You don’t know the culmination; you don’t know where this goes. Even when the credits roll, the question “Where do we go from here?” remains unanswered. The suspenseful premise and character-focused plot of Leave the World Behind make it seem like a captivating film. The cast also includes George “G.H.” Washington (played by Ali), Clay (played by Hawke), Ruth (played by Herrold), Rosie (played by Farrah Mackenzie), Archie (played by Charlie Evans), and Danny (played by Kevin Bacon).