A strong central performance isn’t enough to sell a disappointingly plotted follow-up to
British director Michael Pearce’s thrilling breakout Beast
Michael Pearce is the British director who made a terrific feature debut at
Toronto in 2017 with his psychological drama-thriller Beast, but I have to admit I was disappointed with his new film, a starrier, bigger-budget studio picture.
Through a certain kind of narrative sleight-of-hand, Encounter first leads you into an intriguingly tense and gritty sci-fi, that title being a sneaky and none-too-subtle nudge. But then, after conceding some what’s-wrong-with-this-picture strangeness, the movie downshifts to something else, something more commonplace, but the shift itself feels anticlimactic and frustrating, considering the way we had all in good faith bought into the initial premise with all its specific jeopardy and suspense. And the procedural elements don’t feel all that convincing. But there’s certainly a fervent lead performance from Riz Ahmed, playing Marine Corps veteran Malik Kahn.