TIFF 2021 REVIEW | "Encounter" Exploits Sci-Fi To Facilitate A Suspenseful Father-Son Road Trip
10/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars
Family protects each other. This is the notion that Malik aims to instill in his two young boys in the film Encounter. The lesson is crucial at this moment in his life because trust is hard to find in a world where he doesn’t know who is real and who is being controlled by an invasion of alien parasites. Director Michael Pearce enters his sophomore feature film with great ambition, and there is a lot about it that works. The film tackles big topics regarding family and health in Pearce’s signature mysterious style, and while the film may not deliver entirely on what’s pitched, Encounter ultimately proves to be a tense and emotionally gripping ride.
Audiences are dropped into the middle of a precarious reality where an alien parasite is infecting people and taking control of their bodies. Malik, who we first meet fighting off pathogen carrying insects with bug spray in a cheap motel room, is on his way to rescue his two young sons from their mother and step-dad, who he suspects are infected. After a successful escape, the three embark on a road trip to Nevada, on the run from law enforcement and the potentially infected to a base in Nevada that Malik believes is secure. At the same time, Malik uses this opportunity to reconnect with his sons after having been separated from them for a number of years and teach them what he knows about survival.
In this sophomore feature film, motifs of Pearce’s style become apparent and affirmed; the conjuring of questions about the reality of a situation, the dream sequences of dramatic events that snap characters to startling consciousness, the prevalence of paranoia - it’s a craft that’s honed in his 2017 debut feature film Beast and replicated in Encounter, which comes with its pros and cons. The pros being a bona fide talent for curating mystery and deriving entertainment from uncertainty. But the con - and I mean that both in the sense of detraction and the sense of deception - is how often a narrative development is pitched and then redirected, including when it comes to the film’s premise itself.
But the frustrations of Pearce’s tendency to bait-and-switch are negated by what his narrative switches to. Over the course of Encounter, he gradually swings his focus from genre to relationships, and the fluency in which he does so is practically unparalleled. Yes, those who came to experience the sci-fi-ness of Encounter may leave feeling unfulfilled. But satisfied with the experience or not, there is an admiration to be had about how Pearce develops the relationship between Malik and his sons.
That admiration is procured from a solid script, but also from stunning performances from the film's leading cast. Riz Ahmed, who is on a winning streak following an exceptionally strong performance in Mogul Mowgli and his Oscar nominated performance in Sound of Metal, assumes a southern accent to embark on this journey. The young ones accompanying him on the road trip, Lucian-River Chauhan who plays Jay and Aditya Geddada who plays Bobby, also shine; their interactions come with all the intricacies of brotherhood at their characters’ 8 and 10 year old age - like jealousy over who gets to sit in the front seat and frivolous fights with each other.
The challenges these three face together and with each other are endearing to watch, and those invested in these characters will find significant payoff with the finale of Encounter. Protecting his family is Malik’s paramount objective. So it makes sense that this theme is ultimately what makes Encounter worth the watch.
Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer's Preference - 1 | What does this mean?
Producers
Derrin Schlesinger, Piers Vellacott, Dimitri Doganis
Production Companies
Film4 Productions, Raw, Amazon Studios
Production Designer
Tim Grimes
Screenplay
Joe Barton, Michael Pearce
Publicist
Amazon Studios
Original Score
Jed Kurzel
Director
Michael Pearce
Cast
Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer, Rory Cochrane
Cinematography
Benjamin Kracun
Editing
Maya Maffioli
Executive Producers
Fred Berger, Kate Churchill, Jenny Hinkey, Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden, Julia Oh, Zander Levy, Katherine Butler