Leave the World Behind: What do the deer mean in the Netflix film?

In Netflix's latest hit film, starring Julia Roberts, deer play a significant role in the film's narrative - but what is the significance of the deer in Leave the World Behind?

Netflix's latest movie, Leave the World Behind is delighting viewers but some have been a little bit confused about the deer in the film, and what they signify. 

In the film, deer start appearing at the end of the garden and are viewed by several members of the family, including Rose who becomes curious about why they are there. The deer ultimately become increasingly threatening as a presence until the film closes with Amanda and Ruth being surrounded by hundreds of deer in the woods, and forcing them to scream and throw their arms about until they disperse. 

But why are the deer such a threatening and powerful motif in this film? Why are there so many deer and is their presence simply symbolic?

The film hints at the presence of the deer in a brief moment in the film when Clay is driving. The radio explains that animal migration patterns have been disturbed by recent events. This explains why the pool is later filled with flamingos as the cyberattack and frequencies have interfered with several species that rely on migration for survival.

However, the deer take on a significance in the book, and in fact some of the book covers feature deer because of their importance in the show. In the book, Rumaan writes that the deer herding together in populated areas was a sign of 'A mass migration. A disaster response. A disaster indicator. A disaster unfolding.' 

Leave the World Behind, £9.15 | Amazon

Rumaan Alam's novel from 2021 which inspired the Netflix film directed by Sam Esmail

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In an interview with Tudum, the director Sam Esmail explained that he liked how the book used deer as a sign of something sinister and wanted to emphasise this in the movie.

"Deer are peaceful creatures," he said. "To turn that sweet image into now this sort of ominous, menacing, almost warning - I thought was really interesting. That’s the trick about this movie. We always tried to take the things that we never really considered a threat and then turn it around on them."

In another interview, Sam told GQ, "There was something really ominous about the deer - they're in the book and I expanded on it, because I thought the imagery was so striking."

He then added that they are also a clear representation of nature in the film."You know, I can sit here and talk metaphorically about how they represent this idea of nature, as a warning sign about what we're going through, and how our tech is blinding us to it. But there's also just a tonal quality about how nightmarish this scenario has become," he said.