Can A Black Man Get a Break? Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Tackle Microaggressions in ‘Leave the World Behind’
Written by Latifah Muhammad on December 9, 2023
In Leave The World Behind, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la play G.H. and Ruth, a father and daughter duo who have rented their Long Island mini-mansion out to a family for a short getaway. When strange things start happening in the world, G.H. and Ruth return to their home seeking refuge and receive a not-so-surprising, microaggression-tinged reaction from their guest Amanda, played by Julia Roberts, in this chilling adaption of Rumaan Alam’s apocalyptic thriller.
“If you think about a house in the Hamptons, and Ruth and G.H. just knock on the door at 11 p.m., there are these elements that exist in our culture, that exists in our society, and this is the perfect setting for these things to come up,” Ali shares, adding that Amanda’s subtle digs, which includes questioning Ruth about her hair, feel like a necessity to honestly tell the story.
While G.H. is much more accommodating to Amanda’s jabs, Ruth calls her out on her behavior. “I am the race element, so no matter what I do, no matter who I’m among, the conversation about my Blackness is happening all the time,” Myha’la declares.
The young actress is all about how Gen Z is taking no prisoners when calling out people about race.
“G.H. clearly has an understanding of what dangers or threats they may be under if they do or don’t behave a certain way. But Ruth comes from a time where she’s like, ‘This is our house. I don’t care what they think. We own it, what’s the problem?’ There’s a conversation that’s happening here, generationally, and I think it’s just as exciting and important.”
As the world around the two families turns darker, G.H. and Amanda have a breakthrough, leading to a charming scene between Ali and Roberts and some much-needed lightness on set.
“During rehearsal, every time I would look up at Mahershala, he would be looking down at me, I would just start giggling,” Roberts shares with EBONY. “Once we finally started filming, I just had to be so focused and exacting of what I was trying to accomplish, to not be in a scene with Mahershala, but to be in a scene with G.H.”
Ali hopes a film like this can help people have those difficult discussions about race, perception and identity. “Sometimes people are impacted more and change more from watching something opposed to talking through it…sometimes you you need a picture [like this] to help guide you,” the two-time Academy Award winner reflects.
“I think in our culture, these are conversations that we’re all trying to figure out—how to embrace one another, and our film does a wonderful job of putting them in our faces.”
Leave the World Behind, now playing on Netflix.
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