“This is too important to the theme of the film to leave it on the cutting room floor.”

Image via Netflix 

THE BIG PICTURE

 Director Sam Esmail added an important scene back into the movie at the last moment, despite concerns about the film’s runtime and pacing.
 The scene between Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali’s characters is described as a conversation that helps them find steadier ground with each other and addresses the theme of some people’s inability to learn from their preconceived beliefs.
 Esmail prioritized the story over keeping a concise pace, believing that the scene was too important to leave out and went a long way in nailing what the story was really about.

Movies go through quite a journey from start to finish before audiences get to see them. Many times, they will lose scenes, sometimes in favor of creating a better story or experience for audiences — or both. In the case of Leave the World Behind, writer and director Sam Esmail added one scene back in at the last moment.

During an interview with Collider’s Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub, Esmail revealed that, despite the film’s “healthy runtime,” he felt one scene between Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali‘s characters was “too important to the theme of the film” to exclude.

The scene occurs on the second night following G.H. (Ali) and his daughter Ruth’s (Myha’la) arrival at the house. After a tense first day, G.H. and Amanda (Roberts) have a conversation in which they find a little steadier ground with each other.

As they reflect on the events so far, G.H. notes how some people have trouble separating preconceived beliefs from actual truth, explaining that of those people, some “are incapable of learning, even at their own expense.” Initially for Esmail, the exchange was deleted for pacing reasons — but it remained in the back of his mind.
“That whole section had been cut and not in the film for a long time because, just in general, that night at the house isn’t a lot of action and it is a lot of introspection and dialogue. Specifically with G.H. and Amanda, that scene is incredibly long because they go through a lot of different waves of conversation.

So, that had been lifted from the film because I wanted to really keep the pace tight, specifically in that section, but something was really gnawing at me the whole time we were mixing it.”

Sam Esmail Wanted to Prioritize Story Over Runtime

Although Leave the World Behind‘s final product was ultimately longer, Esmail couldn’t downplay the overall importance of the scene.

He shared that it was a “last-minute decision,” as the movie was practically finished before adding the scene back in. Additionally, Esmail was aware of the main pacing criticisms about the movie, but he was okay with opting to prioritize the story over keeping a more concise pace.
“I watched that moment, and I just thought, ‘This is too important to the theme of the film to leave it on the cutting room floor,’ so we put it back in.

Obviously, I’ve heard the reaction of the film, ‘It feels a little long and feels slow,’ but ultimately, I think, you have to do right by the story, and sometimes pace can get in the way of that. But still, story is king, story is the priority, and I just thought that moment went a long way in nailing what the story was really about.”
Leave the World Behind is streaming now on Netflix. Stay tuned for our full interview with Esmail.