Leave The World Behind Explained: What's The Deer Connection? Why Did Rose Obsess Over Friends?
Apocalyptic psychological thriller Leave The World Behind has left many dumbfounded, especially its abrupt ending hasn't gone down well with the viewers. Ever since its release, it is not only becoming one of the most-watched movies worldwide on Netflix but it is also becoming the most-talked about film of recent times.
Starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha'la Jael Herrold and Kevin Bacon, this movie is based on Rumaan Alam¡¯s eponymous novel. Mirroring the book, even the film leaves many questions unanswered in the viewers¡¯ minds. One big difference, however, is that the film director Sam Esmail does offer an explanation for what¡¯s causing the apocalypse.
What Is Leave The World Behind About?
It revolves around couple Amanda (Roberts) and Clay(Hawke) who head for a vacation in Long Island with their children on a whim. Amanda gives a surprise to her family as she is eager to take a break from the hustle-bustle of the city and get away from people. She is shown to be pretty distrustful of people and a misanthrope. She books a beautiful and picturesque home belonging to a man named GH Scott aka George. When everything seems to be going well, there lovely time is soon interrupted by the owner of the home along with his daughter Ruth, who request the family to let them stay over as there has been a blackout in the city.
Amanda is in no mood to accommodate the father-daughter duo, but eventually gives in. In no time, the entire group realises that a blackout is just a curtain teaser to a looming disaster which will change the world.?
What Caused The Apocalypse?
After the group settles in for the night, they wake up to a rude shock. Amanda gets a notification on her phone which reveals that ¡®hackers¡¯ were behind the power failure but is unable get further update. This becomes the first hint that what they are dealing with is larger than just a power outage. GH seems fishy and gives a dubious vibe indicating that he might know more than what he's showing. The group decides to split up. Clay volunteers to drive to town to gather information. He encounters a drone which can be seen dropping leaflets consisting of Arabic writing which translates to ¡®Death To America¡¯.?
Throughout their ordeal, GH exhibits weird behaviour. It is only towards the end when he fesses up that he works in finance and one of his clients is an influential man in the defense sector for whom he has studied the "cost-benefit analysis of military campaigns". Their present situation reminds GH of a program that his client was terrified of.?
He explains that this program consists of a? "three-stage maneuver" which, if utilized?effectively, "could topple a country's government from within".
The first stage is "isolation", which power outage and hacking of satellites have managed to do. This is followed by second stage which is "synchronised chaos" where the country is terrorized with "covert attacks and misinformation", such as the piercing noise and the threatening leaflets among other things.
"If done successfully, the third stage would happen on its own. Coup d'etat. Civil war. Collapse. This program was considered the most cost-effective way to destabilise a country," GH explains.?
"Because if the target nation was dysfunctional enough, it would, in essence, do the work for you. Whoever started this wants us to finish it."
One theory that emerges is that this is an intentional coup, designed to force people to turn on one another in order to destabilize the nation.
What Do The Five Parts Mean?
Interestingly, the film is divided into five sections and a title is flashed before it begins during the film.?
Part I: The House
This is where the isolation stage begins. On the surface it looks like Amanda and her family are vacationing and taking a break from the hustle and bustle but in reality they got cut off from the world. It aligns with GH¡¯s theory of ¡®making the target deaf and dumb¡¯
Part II: The Curve
This is where the synchronized chaos ensues. Planned attacks begin one after the other and a lot of misinformation is spread.?
Part III: The Noise
This is where the fear of the unknown escalates. The high decibel noise leaves the group scared, it is then followed by the horrifying plane crash which GH witnesses. What¡¯s more, when Clay, Amanda and the kids try to visit their relatives in their car, they see the entire expressway blocked by self-driven cars that act out due to GPS glitch. The cars keep coming and crashing into each other. This entire mix-up and chaos probably means ¡®noise¡¯
Part IV: The Flood.
This is where they are flooded with information that doesn¡¯t add up. They are unable to come to a conclusion about what exactly is happening. They come to know from a survivalist neighbour that it¡¯s not just red leaflets with Arabic writing that are being dropped around the country. In some parts, the leaflets carry Korean, Mandarin(Chinese) and other languages as well. Danny, the neighbour, then explains his theory that it¡¯s not just one force that is attacking the USA but it could be a big political coup.
Why Were The Deer Acting So Weird? Why Did The Flamingos Land In The Pool In New York?
After the Sandfords witness the oil tanker wash ashore, they return to their vacation home. It was then that Amanda saw a mother deer and her offspring lurking near the pool where her kids were having fun. Clay pointed out that seeing deer is a good omen according to Mesoamerican mythology, but the viewers realize soon that it's a big warning sign for horrifying things to come.?
Our nightmare comes to life when Amanda and Ruth are surrounded by a herd of deer and escape from being brutally attacked in the second half of the film.?
It wasn¡¯t just limited to the deer, even flamingos strangely landed in the pool one night, much to Ruth and Clay¡¯s chagrin. Throughout the film, we can see birds flying in the sky in a weird pattern.?
There¡¯s no clear explanation for the strange animal behavior but there's plenty of clues to fathom a reason.?
When Clay tries to go to town to gather information, he abruptly gets a broken signal and the car radio briefly plays a broadcast warning "we're now getting reports that the fallout from the ongoing cyber attack has led to a catastrophic environmental disaster in the south, impacting animal migration patterns."?
As per what film director Sam Esmail told Netflix's Tudum: "Deer are peaceful creatures. To turn that sweet image into now this sort of ominous, menacing, almost warning ¡ª I thought was really interesting.
"That's the trick about this movie. We always tried to take the things that we never really considered a threat and then turn it around on them."
No points for guessing that the film used CGI deer instead of real ones.
Did Danny Actually Have Intel About The Attack Or Was It Just Paranoia?
It¡¯s safe to say that Danny was as clueless about the cyberattack as the Sandfords. For instance, when Amanda went to town for groceries, she noticed weird behaviour of a man (the neighbour Danny) loading up his truck with large supplies. However, it was only later that she made the connected the dots between the two. Similarly, George or GH had his suspicions because of rumours and hints dropped by his high profile clients.
Why Did Archie¡¯s Teeth Start Falling Off?
Esmail offered an intriguing explanation of Archie's mysterious illness which led all of his teeth to fall off.?
He gets bitten by a bug in the forest, after which he develops a fever. When he wakes up the next morning his teeth come out and he vomits blood. After a tense face-off GH¡¯s neighbour Danny finally helps Archie by giving him medicine. But what caused such a horrifying symptom?
Speaking with Vulture, Esmail explained, ¡°I want to be careful how I answer this. I think it¡¯s a nightmare. I think the movie¡¯s a nightmare, and I think that, in nightmares, things happen that are inexplicable.¡±
What Is With Rose¡¯s Obsession With Friends? Does The Sitcom Have A Connection With The Impending Apocalypse?
Amid the chaos, one thing that remains constant is Amanda and Clay¡¯s daughter Rose¡¯s obsession with watching the finale of FRIENDS. The film begins with her binge-watching the show, even when they are on their way to a much-needed vacation. Her frustration over lack of a good internet connection seems odd right from the start. With the grave situation worsening with each passing hour, Rose is still relentless. While everyone else is stressing over whether they¡¯ll make it out alive, Rose is only concerned about whether Ross and Rachel will end up together or not. In fact, the film ends with ¡®I¡¯ll be there for you¡¯ playing on TV.
While Clay and GH are out seeking medical assistance, Amanda and Ruth start looking for Rose who had gone missing. The climax shows Rose breaking into an abandoned house, gorging on food and drinks that have been stocked up in the house. While exploring the house, she finds herself in the basement of the house, which is in fact a ¡°doomsday bunker", equipped with DVDs, abundant food and water supply, electricity and a connection with the outside world.?
A TV screen reads, "White House and major cities under attack from rogue armed forces. Elevated radiation levels detected near multiple population centres. Seek immediate shelter."
Rose pays no heed to it and heads to the DVD section, jumps with joy when she finds the box set of Friends and presses play on 'The Last One' as the movie ends.?One might think that there has to be a connection between FRIENDS and the approaching doomsday. However, for the Mr Robot director, it is ¡°pure escapism¡±.?
"In moments of crisis when we've lost sight of our common humanity, when we feel isolated, we do want to escape to comfort," he told Tudum.
Leave the World Behind ending: How different is it from the book?
The biggest and noticeable difference between the book and the film is that the latter showcases a father-daughter duo instead of an older Black couple.
The movie came up with the disaster elements, such as with a Tesla pile-up and a plane crash on the beach, but moments like the piercing noise, flamingos and the blackouts come from the book. Most of the content remains the same, even the bit where Archie¡¯s teeth fall off.?
By the time viewers get to the end of Leave the World Behind, the intrigue behind what happens to the characters takes precedence over the specifics of the apocalypse.?
Much like the book, even the film has an ambiguous ending: Amanda and Rose see the city being bombed in the distance, and Rose wanders into the neighbor's bunker and chooses FRIENDS over an emergency warning.
What Can Be A Definitive Ending For This Film?
With Rose¡¯s separation from her family, Amanda and Ruth witnessing New York crumbling under bomb attacks and Archie¡¯s teeth falling out, it seems like a sad ending. However, the director feels there¡¯s still a silver lining.
"There's a painting that's hung up on the end of the hallway before Rose goes down into the basement that says, 'Hope begins in the dark'," he told Tudum.
"I think as much as this film is a cautionary tale and it's meant to be a warning, it's not meant to give us an answer as to what to do next ¨C but it is meant to say, 'As dark as it could get, as bleak as it can get, we can always strive to find some hope'."
Leave The World Behind is available for streaming on Netflix.
(To?read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading?Indiatimes BINGE)