Leave The World Behind: Julia Roberts & Director Sam Esmail Clashed Over One Choice

A well-placed needle drop can turn any movie scene into something iconic. That appears to be the case for "Leave the World Behind," the latest thriller blowing up the charts on Netflix, where Amanda (Julia Roberts) and G.H. (Mahershala Ali) dance to "Too Close" by R&B trio Next. It's charmingly awkward as Amanda flails around while G.H. keeps things smooth and suave. The scene has even blown up a bit on social media, with @thefilmj3rk writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Oh my god this 'leave the world behind' dance scene...best scifi dance scene since ['Ex Machina']."

Turns out, Roberts wanted a different song for the scene and fought with director Sam Esmail to change it. She told MTV U.K., "I asked [Esmail] to change it so many times. No offense to the talented blokes, but I asked him so many times because I was so embarrassed at the beginning of that song and Mahershala Ali is standing there, all eight-and-a-half feet tall of him." She may have felt embarrassed, but that was precisely the point. Amanda doesn't really know how to dance to the song, and it's not incredibly well-known. Therefore, Amanda looks awkward while G.H. just rolls with it, and that was Esmail's intention the entire time. 

Speaking to the same outlet, he stated, "That moment in the film needed to feel very grounded and very silly, and I felt that the song kind of allowed those two characters to cut loose in a way that maybe a more familiar or popular song wouldn't have."

A good cinematic dance scene can sear its way into the public consciousness — Just look at how "Miserlou" is instantly recognizable thanks to its needle drop moment in "Pulp Fiction." Sam Esmail wanted to make sure the songs used in "Leave the World Behind" had a similar chance to shine, which is why he sought out tracks that weren't well known. 

The director discussed the movie with Radio Times and elaborated why "Too Close" by Next was an ideal song choice, "I just thought it was really funny and sweet at the same time. That scene goes from lighthearted and playful to sad and dark within a matter of a minute, so the song had to do a lot of heavy lifting." Of course, it's not the only music track in the film, as some other songs include "Misled" by Kool & the Gang, "Winter" by TV on the Radio, and "The Paradigm" by Lil Yachty. Each one was an intentional choice to avoid having audiences connect "Leave the World Behind" with other films, "I do think people make associations, and I don't want that to ever interfere or complicate what the scene's about or what the viewer is feeling as they're watching the scene," Esmail said.

The one song that was very much intended to be recognized comes at the ending of "Leave the World Behind." "I'll Be There for You" by the Rembrandts closes out the story even though it was used for years as the theme song to "Friends." Without giving anything away, it concludes the film in a place of darkly comic irony one could only get with that specific song.