Julia Roberts’ Leave The World Behind made many adjustments to the original narrative that resulted in important details being left out.

SUMMARY

Julia Roberts’ Netflix thriller Leave The World Behind chose to omit key details from Rumaan Alam’s novel of the same name.
Apart from explanations of mass deaths, the plight of many characters in the book was not touched upon in the film.
The narrative also chose to exclude information about the migrant deer, the presence of the American President, and a significant moment at the end of the film.

America’s sweetheart Julia Roberts regaled her fans in the latter half of 2024 with her latest film, Leave The World Behind. The psychological thriller has a sci-fi twist and is based on the novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam.

It follows two couples who grapple with a sudden technological crisis during a family vacation on an island. The story also throws light on the world’s dependence on technology and the dangers of hacking that could lead to widespread chaos globally.

Julia Roberts with Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali in Leave the World Behind
As is the case with any novel-to-film adaptation, it is impossible to incorporate every single element of the written word onto the big screen owing to the limitations of time. Despite Alam leaving many burning questions unanswered in his novel, Roberts’ film chose to edit the narrative even further, thereby leaving out many significant details.

These Omissions In Julia Roberts’ Netflix Thriller Could Have Shed More Light

Rumaan Alam’s futuristic take on world chaos caused by technology, found its way to the big screen in the Julia Roberts’ starrer, Leave The World Behind. The film though, did not address many important aspects of the novel that could have given viewers a more lucid explanation of many unexplained events that occur in the narrative.

Julia Roberts’ film omitted many key details from the original novel
While there were many disturbing deaths of various people that the novel touched upon, the film chose to skim over this number without elaboration. Secondly, the presence of the ominous deer reborn as unicorns due to intergenerational trauma, was also not explained in elaborate fashion along with the reason behind their migration. Another important detail that was not mentioned in the film, was the death of the Thorne family matriarch Nadine.

Leave The World Behind Also Excluded These Important Parts From The Book

Among many aspects, Rumaan Alam’s novel Leave The World Behind also traces the plight of 1500 prisoners in Georgia who are left to face and combat the elements of nature.

Their eventual surrender to their fate is another aspect the film did not touch upon. While the Julia Roberts’ film primarily highlights the blackout occurring in New York City, it chooses not to mention the ignorance of people in other states like Idaho and New Mexico who are oblivious to the chaos that is prevalent.

Julia Roberts in Leave The World Behind
A significant detail that the film left out in its adaptation, was the complete lack of mention of the American President, who according to the novel, was hidden away in a bunker beneath the White House for his safety.

Meanwhile the character of Rose who returns to her family and her mother in an emotional reunion, is simply shown watching television at her house in the final moments of the film, implying that the act had taken place already.