Many literary works have uncomfortable themes like class, race, and the sensitive nature of society and structures. But have you ever thought about what would happen if the aforementioned things were explored on a larger scale and plot?
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam explores the same. A family goes on a long trip to an exquisite, picturesque cabin, but shortly, their happy vacation turns into nightmares after an unexplained global phenomenon. In the aftermath, we see the characters are forced with unfriendly aura where they feel that the civilization is falling apart and everything they had in their brain is not true anymore.
A movie has also been adopted from the book and will soon head to theaters and later on Netflix. It stars Ethan Hawke, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, Mahershala Ali and others. The novel leaves the readers on their toes and unsettling, and let’s see what the movie delivers to the fans of the novel.
The supposed plot of the movie
A normal American couple, Amanda played by Julia Roberts, and Clay played by Ethan Hawke, flies to an isolated Airbnb on Long Island expecting a cozy and happy getaway with their two kids, Rose and Archie.
But their cozy time gets interrupted when a couple claiming to be the original owners of the property, GH played by Mahershala Ali, and Ruth, Played by Myha’la approach them and convince the family that there has been a natural blackout. Ruth and GH say that they both left their Manhattan house to spend the time blackout in this property.
Clay and his wife are not entirely sure of the barged-in couple, but they’re also having some technical problems, like no phone service and Wi-Fi, so they cannot dent their claims. It is settled that both the families will stay under one roof, the owners will stay in the basement, and in the meantime, they will live there together.
Most of them are asleep except Rose. She goes out to spot a deer. However, she is unaware that there are thousands of animals present there, and she cannot see them, indicating that there is actually something wrong. On the other hand, Clay is lost while he is in search of a nearby town. He meets an afraid Spanish woman, but due to the language barrier, he abandons her.
Parallel to his, the kids find a shack in the woods, and suddenly, an explosive sound shatters the windows. Archie gets bitten by a tick.
When all of them are at their Airbnb, they start to prepare for the worst by arranging food and drinking water. But due to the tick bite, Archie falls ill, and his parents agree that he needs a doctor, preceded by more bizarre animal gatherings and deep, strange noises.
Ending Explained
When the day actually arrives, there is panic all around. Archie’s tests are popping out, and Rose has also disappeared. Clay and George rushed to the car to take Archie, and their wives were looking for Rose.
When the day actually arrives, there is panic all around. Archie’s tests are popping out, and Rose has also disappeared. Clay and George rushed to the car to take Archie, and their wives were looking for Rose. In the car, Clay tells GH that he did not help the Spanish woman who was in need of it; he should have helped her.
GH talks to Danny, his contractor, on the way to the hospital. When they finally show up, Danny is all cold shoulders towards them; he doesn’t believe them as friends, contrary to what GH thought.
Danny simply says that masses of herds are migrating, and it is a bad omen. He advises them to locate a shelter and stay put. So they went back home.
Right after this, a state of emergency caution is circulated, and the President of the United States is taken to a bunker for survival. Floods rise, food supplies are limited, and the future of the world goes on the toss.
The book ends as we check Rose, who goes back to the house she located with her brother. She takes some food and looks out for the belongings of the missing families before going back to her own family.
The novel slowly turns to an ambiguous aura. It never tells what will happen to the characters or the world population in general.
The books have been a topic of discussion related to race and social class, with a focus on how the family greets GH and his wife when they arrive at the Airbnb property, which was their own.
In the background, there is actually something disastrous and disturbing occurring, which is grand; the actual terror exists as there is no explanation behind all the chaos. The characters were all clueless and were all over the place because of the horror born from uncertainty.
