Mr Robot creator Sam Esmail’s apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind kicks off with a slow zoom-in on Julia Roberts, as she sneers the words, “I f***ing hate people”. America’s sweetheart has sprinted over to the dark side, and it’s a thrill to see what she does with it. An adaptation of Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel, this is unsubtle but audacious in its speculation on how a cyberattack might roll out in America – which explains the executive producer credits for Barack and Michelle Obama, who can neatly file this next to the string of educational works about civil liberties they’ve already collaborated on with Netflix.
But you do have to wonder what the Obamas think of the dark, highly paranoid cynicism of Esmail’s film, which feels more than anything like a portrait of America’s fundamental weaknesses. Here’s an empire so used to meddling in other people’s business that it’s seemingly unaware that the city behind the drawbridge would crumble with even the faintest whisper of disarray. It’s no coincidence that we’re first introduced to Amanda (Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke), a couple of such bubble-wrapped privilege that they’re able to take themselves and their two kids, Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) and Archie (Charlie Evans), on a spontaneous weekend getaway to a rented house on Long Island, New York.
