The Netflix film adaptation of Rumaan Alam’s best-selling novel, “Leave the World Behind,” directed by Sam Esmail, is an apocalyptic thriller set in an eerily beautiful vacation rental home on Long Island’s North Shore. In the film, Clay Sanford, portrayed by Ethan Hawke, and his wife, Amanda (Julia Roberts), decide to take their children on a serene weekend getaway from the noise of the city. Unfortunately for the family, what seems like an ideal retreat gets upended when homeowner and host G.H. Scott, played by Mahershala Ali, arrives at the rental with daughter Ruth (Myha’la Herrold) in the middle of the night. The reason for their arrival? A mysterious and unexpected blackout in Manhattan.
Despite the movie being based on a fictional U.S. cyberattack, the gorgeous rental property that is central to the film is 100% real and, in fact, actually located in the village of Old Westbury. The 5,200-square-foot modern farmhouse, designed by notable architect John Patrick Winberry of The Up Studio — a Long Island City-based firm — completed construction in 2019. The house was built to replace a French-style estate destroyed by a fire and has since been dubbed “The Open Corner House.”
Throughout the film, the Sanfords, guests in the home, reside primarily on the structure’s upper floors. The kitchen, dining, and living areas are complimented by lots of natural wood, marble, metal hardware, and leather, and all flow into one another seamlessly. The main suite cantilevers out over the pool with a seascape immediately behind the bed. Incredibly, the ferocity of waves in the background grows as tension builds throughout the film.
The Scott family, who own the home, eventually have to bunker down in the basement suite, which was specifically constructed for the film. Set director David Schlesinger spoke on the basement, saying, “The ceiling is very low in there; it’s a very cramped space.” He continued, “[G.H.] mentioned at one point that they had renovated the house, so we thought maybe the furnishings down there were older. It was more of a 19th-century historic vibe. We’re near the ocean, so there was a lot of thought about the sea and a nautical [feeling]; the idea of it was almost like a ship’s cabin.”
The house is like a character in the film, as it plays a pivotal role in the plot. The home provides shelter for both families who must weather the Armageddon that continues to rage outside its walls. The L-shaped spread is idiosyncratic for its shimmering infinity-edge pool, art-lined walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and vivid white brick façade. Production designer Anastasia White said, “It’s not a cozy house, but you don’t expect things will go wrong when you step into that place.” The entire set design team reportedly went so far as to recreate the house on a soundstage, which was used for half of the filming.
Following the release of Netflix’s “Leave the World Behind,” Rumaan Alam’s 2020 New York Times bestseller returned to the top of bestseller lists this week.
