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If Riz Ahmed is in the leading office of a moving-picture show , then the audience can at least quietus assured that his performance will be one deserving watching . Such is the case inEncounter , a film with sci - fi element that ultimately unfolds to become a tantalizing psychological drama with an emotional center . Directed by Michael Pearce from a screenplay by him and Joe Barton , Encounterweaves a mysterious tale that is filled with intensity , high stakes , incredibly deep and nuanced performances , and change perspectives .
A former leatherneck , Malik Khan ( Ahmed ) is watching for sign of an exotic invasion , one that is restfully overtaking the body politic follow a shooting star cascade that brought a parasitical creature to Earth . Preying on people through dirt ball bites and eat up itself deeply in their skin , Malik is disquieted because these aliens can presumably take over a host ’s body without anyone being the wiser . It ’s under this line of thinking that he cower into his ex - wife Piya ’s ( Janina Gavankar ) mansion at night to take his two sons — Jay ( Lucian - River Chauhan ) and Bobby ( Aditya Geddada ) — to safety , believing Piya has been infected .
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Where the film excels is in its change perspective . With Malik , the audience comes to see him as a protective father who wants to carry through his sons from the parasitic invasion that is quietly ask over the macrocosm . To some extent , Encountertackles the complexities of the psyche and the manner in which the system at large fails to provide upkeep to those who are in demand of it . While the story pivots , the film retains its survivalist story in the midst of an onset , though the shift point of prospect heighten the premise to an extent that would n’t have been the same had it remained on the same caterpillar track from the get - go .
As Malik ’s perspective widens to show what ’s really come about , it ’s his boy Jay ( his name undercuts the character ’s South Asian ancestor ) whose previous image of his Father of the Church — that of a man on active nautical tariff — is tinged with a blush wine - colored horizon and romanticizing of valiancy . It sharpens later , shaping how he view the public after learning the the true . His newfound sympathy force him to grow up too shortly and to see Malik in a different light , one that is bear on by Jay ’s harrowing experience . The performances by both Ahmed and Chauhan are particular in their own ways . Ahmed has shown how capable an actor he is before andEncountersees him take on yet a different sort of character , one he undertake with fervor . His oculus and body language showcase fear , confusion , and nervousness as he transitions from perceive calmness to desperation and resolve . The fact that Chauhan match the skills and shade of Ahmed talk to the immature actor ’s ability .
All that said , the momentum of the film part to wane a number after a few apposite reveals . While the story attempts to stick with Malik and his sons ’ journeying , the involvement of Union agents ( led by Rory Cochrane ) puts a scratch in the emotionally - charged level . A good lump ofEncounteris dedicated to the agents ’ attempts at finding Malik — with the avail of Hattie ( Octavia Spencer ) , the only soul he trusts and who genuinely wants to help — and it endanger to jump the more sexual position and journey that is so effectively utilized at the startle of the photographic film . Pearce manages to at least maintain some of that intimacy and sense of isolation from bon ton by keeping most of the action to deserted roads , dry , flat landscapes , and abandoned homes in the midriff of nowhere . All of this ferment to intensify the eeriness of the motion picture , which never blank out to showcase Malik ’s full stop of view and his logical thinking .
The result is a psychological thriller with sci - fi elements that is profoundly engaged with its main characters , their inherited connexion , and how their trust evolves and reckons with the reality of their situation . And while the dramatic play get the wind knock out of its sails after introduce other characters , Encountergets in plenty of emotional , nuanced scenes between Malik and his sons that become the beating heart of this often unsettling , odd , yet strangely mesmerizing film .
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Encounterreleased in circumscribed theaters on December 3 and will be usable to stream on Amazon Prime Video on December 10 , 2021 . The photographic film is 108 minutes farsighted and is rated R for language and some violence .
This review was in the first place published on September 14 as a part of Screen Rant ’s 2021 Toronto International Film Festival coverage .
