The TRUE meaning of Leave the World Behind’s baffling ending: Netflix film’s stars explain its confusing finale for frustrated fans

• WARNING: SPOILER ALERT 
• The apocalyptic thriller debuted on the streamer to rave reviews in December 
• But many viewers were left wanting at the movie’s cliffhanger ending
• Two of its stars, Myha’la Herrold and Charlie Evans, shared their interpretations

Fans of the new Netflix thriller Leave the World Behind have been clamoring for answers to the film’s cliffhanger ending – and now stars Myha’la Herrold and Charlie Evans have finally shed some light on the fate of their characters.

The Sam Esmail-directed flick, based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel of the same name, follows the Sanford family – including mom Amanda (Julia Roberts), dad Clay (Ethan Hawke), and teenage kids Rose and Archie (Farrah Mackenzie and Charlie Evans) – as they depart their Brooklyn apartment for a last-minute vacation at a plush modernist rental house on Long Island.

Not long after the family gets settled at the rental, bizarre events begin to take place: including an oil tanker running aground on the beach; malfunctioning cell phone and internet connections; and a national emergency alert blaring across TV channels. 

The family is then thrown another curveball when the house’s owner George (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la Herrold) show up unannounced in the middle of the night requesting to crash at their own home due to a blackout in New York City.

Many viewers have complained about the many unanswered questions left lingering after the movie came to a close – but according to Myha’la and Charlie, that feeling of confusion was entirely ‘purposeful’. 

Based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel, the film follows the Sanford family as they depart their Brooklyn apartment for a vacation at a plush modernist rental house on Long Island

The Sandfords’ children include teenagers Archie and Rose

After a series of bizarre events, the Sanfords are thrown another curveball when the house’s owner, George, and his daughter, Ruth, show up in the middle of the night

From the get-go, the movie’s plotline is certainly one that leaves viewers scratching their heads.  

After George and Ruth return to their rental home, things continue to devolve while it also becomes clear there’s no way to leave the locale, with the outbound highways blocked by car crashes.

At one point, as Clay attempts to drive to town, his car is assaulted by a barrage of flyers from a plane declaring ‘Death to America’ in Arabic; later, the characters learned that similar flyers were dropped on Los Angeles, but in Korean.

Another strange phenomenon comes in the form of a herd of deer continuing to gather around the house, observing its human residents with unsettling intensity.

Leading up to the climax of the film, Archie begins mysteriously losing his teeth, while Rose goes missing overnight. 

Amanda and Ruth then set out into the woods to track down Rose – and get stopped in their tracks when they catch a glimpse of the NYC skyline through the trees and watch in horror as the metropolis is consumed in a series of fiery explosions.

Rose, meanwhile, is perfectly fine: She’s made her way unharmed to a neighbor’s house and, with no one home, proceeded to raid  their pantry. 

As she further explores the home, she stumbles on an unlocked, spacious, fully stocked basement bunker.

The film concludes as the Sanfords’ teen daughter, Rose, discovers a well-stocked bunker in a neighboring house

In the bunker, she discovers a DVD box set of Friends – the show she was about to finish just before the internet cut out – and to her delight is able to watch the series finale

Throughout the film, Rose has been irked that the internet cut out before she could watch the series finale of Friends.

Luckily, in the bunker, she quickly discovers a DVD box set of the beloved sitcom, and, mollified, proceeds to put on the last episode. 

Roll credits.

As MailOnline previously reported, many fans took to social media to fume about the ambiguous ending, with some characterizing it as ‘random’ and ‘awful.’ 

Among the lingering questions the films leaves unanswered: whether Rose reunites with her family; if her brother Archie survives; and if the two families wind up finding refuge in the bunker Rose discovers.

It’s also ultimately left unclear who or what is attacking the United States – though clues point toward the aggressor being a foreign nation or nations.

Given how, in one of the movie’s final moments, Amanda spots the house that Rose had gone into – saying, ‘That house, that’s gotta be where she went’ – it would seem to be extremely obvious to viewers who paid attention to any of the dialogue that the family would have soon been reunited, then likely decide to take advantage of the newly discovered bunker. 

Meanwhile, the movie’s final shot of Ruth and Amanda reveal their faces as they watch the NYC skyline erupt in explosions

Amanda and Ruth caught a glimpse of the burning metropolis through the tree while searching for Amanda’s daughter, Rose

Still, actors Myha’la, 27, and Charlie, 19, addressed the open-ended aspects of the narrative in interviews with Today.com.

Reflected Charlie, the identity of the attackers is ‘purposefully vague.’

Of the multi-lingual ‘Death to America’ flyers, he said: ‘I think the point of the multiple flyers and the ambiguity around a lot of things that happen in the movie are on purpose.’

‘I think we’re supposed to be constantly guessing. I don’t think we’re supposed to know. I don’t think we’re supposed to really have a complete grasp and I think that’s what makes it particularly scary.’

Meanwhile, Myha’la expressed certainty that ‘Amanda will find Rose, that’s what I believe for sure will happen … The strength of motherhood is impenetrable.’

The actress further described herself as a ‘glass half full kind of girl’ who ‘always thinks there’s hope’ for survival amid the film’s bleak circumstances.

She continued on to admit that she ‘wouldn’t’ change the ending, as ‘the intention is that we don’t know what happens’ to the characters.

Charlie added that he simply hopes that his characters ‘gets a new set of teeth.’

With that, he mused: ‘I think your personal experience of how you view the end as an audience member, whether you feel doomed or you feel hopeful is exactly how it was meant to be.’

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