New Scientist - USA (2021-12-11)

32 | New Scientist | 11 December 2021

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Film

Encounter

Michael Pearce

UK cinemas, Amazon Prime

ENCOUNTER brings together

three of the most exciting stars

in the British film industry:

director Michael Pearce, whose

debut feature Beast was critically

acclaimed on its release in 2017,

screenwriter Joe Barton, who

created the equally lauded Giri/

Haji, and Riz Ahmed, whose

performances in Four Lions,

The Night Of and Sound Of Metal

secured his status as one of

the UK’s best actors.

For the first half of Encounter,

their talents complement each

other perfectly. Ahmed stars as

Malik Khan, an ex-soldier on a

mission to rescue his two young

children Jay (Lucian-River

Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya

Geddada) when the world

comes under attack from an

extraterrestrial invasion that

is made more terrifying by the fact

that the aliens come in the form

of parasitic microorganisms

that first infect insects, then

move on to tackle humans.

Encounter begins by

immediately establishing the

seriousness of the extraterrestrial

threat. Before the title sequence

even hits the screen, we see the

aliens arrive on Earth, attack

insects and then quickly explode

in numbers. Pearce shoots this

sequence with a detail that is

simple to follow yet sinister

and creepy. So much so that the

subsequent shots of insects

will make your skin crawl.

The action ratchets up further

when Malik’s ex-wife Piya (Janina

Gavankar), who doesn’t see the

rescue in quite the same light,

informs the authorities that her

children have been kidnapped.

Special agents Shepard (Rory

Cochrane) and Hattie (Octavia

Spencer) are put on the case

and set off in pursuit across

the mountains and deserts

of California and Nevada.

At this early stage of the film,

it is a blast, successfully towing

the line between a riveting sci-fi

drama and a road-trip movie.

Ahmed commands the screen

instantly, giving Malik a toughness

and intensity that emerge

gradually as the story progresses.

The young actors who play his

sons are just as impressive, but

for very different reasons. It won’t

take long for audiences to be

charmed by Geddada, who brings

a much needed levity and heart

to the film. Chauhan becomes

more confident as time goes on,

displaying an impressive maturity

as if the story is thrashing around.

It is unnerving to say the least.

Despite this unexpected shift

in perspective, the narrative isn’t

entirely derailed. It soon finds

its footing again, and Ahmed’s

continually powerful performance

ensures that Encounter remains

intriguing all the way to its finale.

Chauhan, alongside him,

does a great job at keeping

the intensity high.

On the other hand, anyone

who was enjoying the sci-fi-cum-

road-trip experience may find

themselves less invested in the

more intimate and psychological

character study that Encounter

becomes. Ultimately, by the time

the credits roll, it feels like two

separate movies that have been

jammed together to form an

uneven psychological sci-fi

thriller that, while good, could

have been so much more. ❚

Gregory Wakeman is a journalist

based in Los Angeles

and strength of character.

Pearce gives Malik, Jay and

Bobby the space to build a

genuinely touching connection.

With all this going on amid

the beauty and desolation of

the Californian mountains, it is

impossible not to be drawn into

the story. Barton’s economical

and believable script propels

the film forwards, while providing

just enough backstory on the alien

attack to keep audiences intrigued.

The soundtrack, too, subtly

makes the alien creatures feel

present and menacing, without

ever allowing the sound of their

advancement to get in the way

of the scene-building and

storytelling.

Then, just when Encounter is

really getting under way, Pearce

hits us with a seismic shift in

direction. While potentially a

deliberate ploy to surprise the

audience and keep us engaged,

it doesn’t quite work. Instead,

it disrupts what was building

into a beautiful and unnervingly

atmospheric experience and

throws us for a loop. For a good

10 minutes after this turn, it feels

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Invasion of the tiny aliens

Sci-fi meets road trip in Encounter, a film that starts well, but then veers off

course just when it is star ting to get f un, says Gregory Wakeman

Malik (Riz Ahmed, centre)

is determined to prepare

his sons to fight the aliens

“ Ahmed commands

the screen, giving

Malik a toughness

and intensity as the

story progresses”