Encounter review: Riz Ahmed elevates Amazon’s blunt sci-fi drama

Malik Khan (Riz Alam) wakes every morning to check his eyes for any signs of infection and then sprays the bug spray on his whole body. The earth has been invaded by parasitic microscopic organisms from space, and he’s one of the few humans not infected. Meeting, Michael Pearce’s ham-fisted, allegorical follow-up to off-kilter romance BeastThis science fiction movie about a roadtrip to the future is called. It relies more on emotional manipulation than grounded poignancy.

Malik is a veteran of the army. It’s been two years since he’s seen his sons Jay (Lucian-River Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya Geddada). The boys live with Piya, Janina Gavankar and Lance McRae (Shane McRae), on a farm. The boys eat letters from their dad every day. He tells them stories about the daily mission he has to defeat aliens. Jay gets his stories, and he spends most of his day drawing space monsters. They believe he’s a hero. And they are unable to resist the call from Malik, even though he has been gone for so long. Malik took his two sons with him.

The wavelength Third Kind: Close Encounters, MeetingConcerns a father struggling to keep his boys safe, but eventually falling prey to his own dogmatisms. Malik genuinely loves his boys, and wholeheartedly believes he’s doing the right thing to protect them. He has a wonderful rapport with his boys. That happens partially because of the amiable dialogue in Pearce and Joe Barton’s initially simple script. It also occurs because of this trio of actors: Sweetness naturally emanates from Ahmed, which at this point in his career shouldn’t be much of a surprise, and Geddada and Chauhan settle into a natural relationship with their screen dad. Their performance is more than a simple one. They are so knowledgeable. Pearce uses plenty of close-ups, and on each cut to either Geddada or Chauhan, the internal machinations of their characters — fear, longing, happiness, and confusion — arrive without a hint of artifice.

Image: Amazon Prime Video

The rub, nevertheless, comes when Malik’s absence worries his parole officer Hattie (played by an underused, underwritten Octavia Spencer). Hattie tells authorities that Malik is an annihilator, but they are wrong. He’s a vengeful father who will soon execute his children and himself. As opposed to the roadtrip portions, the dramatic tension of Malik’s psychology, the violence he’s capable of under the right circumstances, is thin. Dramatic effect is not achieved by the subplot that relies on stereotypical images of soldiers with PTSD.

Pearce ratchets up seemingly mundane conflicts with a houseless woman, a pesky highway patrolman, and a gas station attendant — suggesting they’re all infected — for heightened frights. Similar sound is also used. In shabby, quaint restaurants and hotels, the amplified spread of bugs creates unnerving set pieces. First, the monolithic Malik sees this world through the eyes of his children, and then the boys who adore him. In response, he views the world as he sees it. There are some stunning visual scenes packed within their sight: Malik speeding down an empty road with his truck and seemingly against gravity. In this liminal space, where the earth is controlled by microscopic invaders, where the headlights of Malik’s truck against the dark desert sky form an otherworldly effect, is where the mystery of Meeting casts its deepest spell.

Pearce is unable to maintain this alluring balance. Cinematographer Benjamin Kracun’s once heavenly sun-soaked composition shifts to orange sand-smeared landscapes. Malik goes too far. He gives in to his anger and begins to fall apart. The father of two gun-toting, yahoos is also injured by his actions. They hunt him down across the country in a bid to exact revenge. This desolate but beautiful landscape becomes an abandoned village. Concrete buildings that have fallen, dusty streets and barren roads all point to the Middle East war.

Image: Amazon Prime Video

MeetingThis is a parable about xenophobia as well as the wars which have dominated American politics over the past two decades. It’s odd, however, that both children are named Bobby and Jay. Maybe their Westernized names are a sign of assimilation on the part of Malik, especially since he’s in the army. But that feeling of assimilation doesn’t worm into the primary text. The audience must infer it’s intent and bring their cultural literacy to the movie. There’s nearly a sense that MeetingThe film was originally written to be directed by an all-white cast. Ahmed joined the project and changed the direction. However, the script was not adapted for colorblind actors or the new themes. It is difficult to find the intended emotional punch from the parable.

The climax is when he and his brothers are pursued by federal agents. The lives of the boys are more than in danger. People with itchy trigger fingers are holding brown people hostage. It’s a setup designed for surface-level tension. The scene has political implications, but it tries to make Malik sympathetic. An avenue does exist where audiences would pity him in this situation, but Pearce’s graceless parable hits the message too hard on the head. If Pearce weren’t so heavy-handed, if were just self-aware enough to know how to connect character with metaphor, thenBegin a relationshipThe flawed sci-fi movie “The Last of Us” could have a lot to offer, but it has a very simple plot.

Meeting You can stream it on Amazon Prime Video right now.