Hidden detail in Netflix's Leave the World Behind is leaving viewers mind-blown
Netflix's Leave the World Behind dropped a week ago and has viewers digging deep and analysing the symbolisms and hidden messages.
The apocalypse movie starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon has quickly claimed the top spot on Netflix's movie list.
Some viewers have praised the movie whilst others have labelled it 'creepy' and leaving unresolved storylines and unanswered questions.
One hidden detail in particular has sparked questions amongst viewers.
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In between the strange events, looming apocalypse and hidden messages,
a recurring theme is the changing paintings in the parents' bedroom of the family rental home.
Within Amanda and Clay's rental home, large prints are displayed on the walls. One is spotted in the living room, featuring patches of black of white on a background.
Another is in the bedroom illustrating an ocean below a bleak, grey sky.
Though the paintings are hard to miss, observant viewers have noticed subtle changes occurring during the course of the movie.
As the storyline darkens and cyberattack events unfold, viewers have noticed the paintings in the home changing - subtly foreshadowing eerie events.
In the bedroom, the ocean painting changes, with the horizon moving further up, inferring that the characters beneath the image are going deeper underwater as they lie in bed. Whereas, the living room painting becomes messier and appears almost 'glitchy' -with permission from the artist, Glenn Ligon, to make such edits.
Like other mystery thrillers, film-makers impressively include subtle changes and details that aren't so obvious to the audience, but can be highly effective in foreshadowing events and alternating the theme of the movie.
Fortunately for the observant viewers, an art curator of the Netflix hit, Racquel Chevremont, explained the decision behind the ominous paintings.
She said: 'We didn't want something that was going to be obvious. We needed something that could evoke an emotional response without people really understanding why the scene seems a little different.'
Sam Esmail - director of Leave the World Behind - discussed that in order to make subtle changes or certain foreshadow events in the movie, it has to be done a way that separates it from the book.
He said: 'When you think about it in terms of - especially if you go into a cinematic medium - you have to recontextualize it. You have to figure out a different way to mine the same character, the interior lives of these characters, or the visual language of the book.
'You have to find a way to reconstruct it.'