Netflix's Latest Number One Is Getting Dragged For Reasons Both Deserved And Not
Things were going so well for "Leave the World Behind." Netflix's latest psychological thriller/disaster film hit the service on December 8, 2023, and promptly dominated the most-watched charts, claiming the top spot in 85 countries around the world as of December 11 (according to streaming data aggregator FlixPatrol). Directed by "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail, the film also managed to impress critics, succeeding where other Netflix thrillers such as the disappointingly muddled "Reptile" failed.
The movie holds a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, with critics praising Email's direction and the film's overall tone, which manages to establish a creeping sense of dread throughout. The performances were also singled out as a highlight, which is hardly surprising considering "Leave the World Behind" features one of the best casts yet assembled by Netflix. With Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon, even if the script and direction were complete rubbish, "Leave the World Behind" was always going to deliver on the acting front.
So, you've got a hugely successful movie that's not only bringing in viewers worldwide but which has also impressed critics and seemingly proved that streaming movies don't have to be the forgettable dross to which we've become uncomfortably accustomed in recent years. I'd call that a resounding success. Except, there are a few issues with "Leave the World Behind" that threaten to tarnish the film's otherwise solid debut.
Leave the World Behind's runtime woes
Adapted from author Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel of the same name, "Leave the World Behind" sees a family grapple with the apocalypse. Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) and Clay Sandford (Ethan Hawke) take their two children to a vacation home but almost immediately find that things take a disturbing turn as their cell service and wifi drops and an oil tanker runs aground on the nearby beach. As things progress, the couple who own the vacation home arrive, explaining that there's been a blackout in the city, and it starts to become clear that society itself is collapsing.
All of this sounds like a nicely upsetting premise for a decent thriller/disaster movie. Unfortunately, much like the apocalyptic events in the film itself, there's trouble brewing that threatens to cause the collapse of "Leave the World Behind" and its promising debut. Specifically, viewers have started complaining about the runtime. Evidently, the complete implosion of society should only last for about an hour and a half and not for the two hours and 21 minutes that Sam Esmail's movie takes to unspool.
Users commented that, "there's no justification for that runtime," and lamented what is apparently a "long ass movie with no answers." The social media stir was enough to prompt a few headlines about a backlash, with The Independent in particular collating some of the runtime complaints. This included one viewer who wrote, "I'm watching 'Leave the World Behind.' Here's why that's a mistake. I wanna watch other things and this movie is almost 2 & a half hours long."
While it should be noted that these complaints can be found alongside other posts that claim the runtime actually "zips by," the length of this film isn't the only issue viewers seem to have with it.
Could this be any more unrealistic
"Leave the World Behind" seems to have upset some "Friends" fans who have spotted what some are calling a major plot hole, but which is really just a nitpick at most. In the film, Amanda and Clay's daughter, Rose (Farrah Mackenzie), is dismayed to find that, once the wifi and cell service goes out, she's unable to watch the final episode of "Friends" after having binge-watched the series on her iPad. But star Julia Roberts actually guest-starred in season 2 of the beloved sitcom as Chandler (the late Matthew Perry)'s love interest, Susie Moss. Which, as several Twitter/X users have pointed out, would mean that when Rose binged her way to that particular season 2 episode, she'd have seen her own mother getting cozy with old Chanandler Bong.
Several outlets have enthusiastically dubbed this a "plot hole." One Twitter/X user posted, "If Rose from 'Leave The World Behind' was obsessed with 'Friends' that means at some point during S02E12 ('The One After the Superbowl') she was probably like, '...Mom?'" And would you believe this whole debacle prompted The Messenger to ask Sam Esmail directly about Roberts' connection to the sitcom at the heart of his own film? The director addressed it by saying:
"On a purely intellectual level, in this universe, Julia Roberts is not playing Amanda. There's just Rose's mom, Amanda Sanford. And on the show, she sees Julia Roberts, and maybe she has a passing resemblance to her mom, but because it's her mom, she probably doesn't think twice about it. So that's my weird, meta-convoluted explanation for it."
All of this is noteworthy for how strongly it evokes the "Are we to believe this is some sort of magical xylophone?" energy of the Itchy and Scratchy fanboy from "The Simpsons."
Leave the world (and Twitter) behind
If you thought that was the end of the controversy that's not really a controversy, think again. "Leave the World Behind" caused yet more online nitpickery, this time over a scene that involves Amanda and Clay discovering a road crammed with unmanned Teslas. In the sequence, the driverless cars have seemingly been hacked to drive to certain destinations and crash into each other, creating car-made roadblocks.
Sadly, the point of the scene seemed to escape Tesla founder and Twitter/X owner Elon Musk, who posted on his platform that, "Teslas can charge from solar panels even if the world goes fully 'Mad Max' and there is no more gasoline!" Naturally, as pointed out by The Independent, users of the platform were quick to jump on this error, suggesting that Musk should actually watch the film before commenting on it.
None of which is all that important in the grand scheme of things, but that didn't stop the Daily Mail running a headline about how "Netflix users mercilessly mock 'triggered' Elon Musk for whining about Tesla pile-up scene." In reality, you can scroll the replies to Musk's post and it's mostly Tesla bros commending the CEO for his products/and or brave response to a streaming movie. If nothing else, then, perhaps Musk's post has given the makers of the upcoming "Mad Max" prequel/spin-off "Furiosa" some ideas. That, and it's actually made the case for the collapse of society not being all that bad a prospect if it means the end of Twitter.