Leave the World Behind might not be a typical apocalyptic thriller, but the slow-burn drama has undeniable charm.
Its late October of 2023 premier prevented the cast from doing publicity rounds as they stood in solidarity with the Writers’ Strike of ’23. Despite its lackluster premiere, Leave the World Behind has been well received, with critics praising the acting despite the somewhat leisurely pace of the apocalyptic thriller. But, more importantly, People are wondering just where that gorgeous house is, and how they can experience those verdant green woods for themselves.
Where was Leave the World Behind filmed
Leave the World Behind follows Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay Sandford (Ethan Hawke) as they take an impromptu trip to a secluded AirBnB just off the coast of Long Island with their two teens. What starts as a leisurely holiday turns into a blackout as the family realizes the world around them seems to be crumbling. With no technology left, the family must partner with the home’s true owner, G. H. Scott (Mahershala Ali), and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la Herrold) to survive.
Most of the film is shot exactly where it is set. All filming took place in New York State, specifically around Westchester County in May 2022. Supporting scenes were captured around the area, from Pleasantville, Lewisboro, and a nearby hamlet called Katonah, nestled in the town of Bedford, New York. The Riverhead Local newspaper claims that the Riverhead Township served as the primary location for the film’s remote exterior shots.
The house itself, a 5,000-square-foot modern farmhouse, can be found in Old Westbury. The recently renovated home was designed by John Winberry, a partner at the 12-person-strong Long Island City architecture firm. The house, affectionately called the Open Corner, is designed to capture sunlight every hour of the day, leading to some spectacular open-concept looks that are perfect for the end of the world. Those surreal shots of Julia Roberts wandering through sunlight are all real, folks, no Post Processing needed.
The location manager, Mara Alcaly, told Curbed that she chose the home for the dichotomy it would play against the apocalypse. As chaos unfolds, the home’s manicured lines and stark white exterior put it at odds with the crumbling world. All the while, the open design of the building forces the viewer to stay keenly aware of the outside world.
Outside of home, the lush forest vistas came from FDR State Park just outside of Yorktown Heights, New York. The park has served as a filming location for a plethora of films and film-adjacent events. You might recognize the well-manicured forest from The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind or the “Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience“ in 2022.
Most of the gorgeous waterfront views weren’t achievable without Long Island in the frame, so the crew outsourced those vistas to nearby Smithtown, Riverhead, and Lloyd Harbor.
