Yahoo Movies Leave the World Behind director responds to Friends 'plot hole'
Leave the World Behind co-writer and director Sam Esmail has given his own explanation for the Friends references in the his apocalyptic psychological drama.
An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam, the film stars Julia Roberts as misanthrope Amanda Sandford who, together with her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke) and children Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) and Archie (Charlie Evans), finds herself in the midsts of what the TV reports as cyber attacks, with all clues pointing to a potential cataclysm.
As they take shelter — together with the owners of the luxury home they rented for the weekend, played by Mahershala Ali and Myha'la — some fans have noticed that Rose watches one of all time's comfort shows: Friends.
Related: Leave the World Behind doesn't need to give you all the answers
As Roberts guest-starred on the beloved sitcom, viewers have been comparing it to the Ocean's Twelve paradox, whereby in the film Roberts' character Tess poses as... Julia Roberts.
"Absolutely. This goes back to what I was just saying. The universe I create for these movies is slightly off from our reality," Esmail told The Hollywood Reporter.
"They have to be, obviously. They're being performed by actors that are in our world."
Related: Why Leave the World Behind's use of Friends is more meaningful than you think
The filmmaker continued: "So my meta, convoluted explanation is that when Rose is watching Friends and she sees Julia on it, she sees a passing resemblance to her mother, but obviously shrugs it off because it's not her mom.
"Kids also don't like to imagine their moms being these famous celebrities that they see on TV, so that's how I justify it to myself."
In another interview, Esmail explained why Rose picks Friends over other comfort shows, describing the sitcom as "pure escapism".
"In moments of crisis when we've lost sight of our common humanity, when we feel isolated, we do want to escape to comfort," he told Tudum.
Leave the World Behind is available to watch now on Netflix.
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