Author Rumaan Alam says the film version’s ending, which involves ‘Friends,’ is “funny, but I don’t think it’s a joke”

Myha’la Herrold (left), Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts in ‘Leave the World Behind’. PHOTO: JOJO WHILDEN/NETFLIX

Note: The following contains spoilers for Leave the World Behind, now streaming on Netflix.

The conclusion of Sam Esmail’s film adaptation of the book Leave the World Behind has author Rumaan Alam’s approval.

This apocalyptic thriller ends on somewhat of a high note when Rosie (Farrah Mackenzie), the runaway daughter of Amanda and Clay (Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke) is finally able to watch the Friends series finale after finding a power generator and a DVD player.

That Friends through-line is a new component to the story, which is adapted from the 2020 bestselling novel by Alam.

Alam told Variety he found the ending of the film, which Esmail wrote, to be “so satisfying,” even if some elements are left to interpretation.

“To end with the particular jolt of humor that [Sam] does is so satisfying and so rewarding,” said Alam. “It’s sort of self-reflective because he’s a filmmaker. He’s also worked in television, and he’s sort of asserting something about the power of that medium, and its hold over this one character.”

Rumaan Alam (left), Tonia Davis, Sam Esmail, Marisa Yeres Gill, Chad Hamilton, Nick Krishnamurthy and Nick Nesbitt on Oct. 25, 2023. MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES

“I say it’s funny, but I don’t think it’s a joke,” the author added. “I don’t think it’s a joke on Rose. I don’t think it’s a joke on the audience. I don’t think it’s a joke on Friends. It’s a reminder that art is kind of a salve.”

Alam said he’s seen audiences react to the ending three times and “nobody really knows what to make of it. They’re like, is this funny? Is this scary? Is it really over?”

“I love that so much,” he told the publication.

Leave the World Behind starts with Amanda, played by Roberts (who once made a guest appearance on Friends), booking a vacation with her husband and two kids to get out of New York City. When a presumed cyberattack event begins, two strangers, played by Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Herrold, show up at the rental home claiming to be the house’s owners.

The unlikely grouping of people have to band together, setting aside their differences to survive the doomsday scenario.

Mahershala Ali (left), Myha’la Herrold, Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke in ‘Leave the World Behind’. JOJO WHILDEN/NETFLIX

Alam told Variety that it would be “so dissatisfying” to give audiences all the final answers in regards to the characters’ fates and exactly what caused the end-of-the-world situation.

“It’s a film that respects you as a viewer enough to not provide that,” said the author. “In that final scene between Julia and Myha’la, they don’t embrace. Even prior to that, when they’re in that little shed and come to a détente, Ruth acknowledges that there’s some truth to the things that Amanda has said, that they’re in agreement about something, but it doesn’t end with a hug. It’s not that kind of story.”

He added, “I have no problem with, like, a big disaster movie that saves the six or eight principals and reunites them in the aftermath of a disaster and allows you to be like, ‘Well, everything’s gonna be okay.’ I just don’t think this is that kind of film.”

At the Leave the World Behind world premiere at AFI Fest in October, Alam told PEOPLE that Esmail “understands the screen and I understand the page, and he understands how to turn a feeling of ambiguity that exists on the page into a very different kind of feeling as it plays out on screen.”

“I think ultimately, his interpretation, I think it’s really faithful despite there are obvious changes that he had to make because dealing with a different medium,” he continued. “But I feel personally that the film elicits a response in its audience that I hope my book did too.”

Leave the World Behind is now streaming on Netflix. The novel is available wherever books are sold.