Random Encounter (1998)

As thrillers go, "Random Encounter" is fairly routine overall. Numerous holes in the story harm this film the most. Some of the holes leave the viewer wondering what happened. A little better writing would have helped. A few original twists elevate it somewhat. Some decent photography and acting elevate the film even more. Joel Wyner is reasonably convincing as the treacherous Kyle Jones. His main problem is that compared to Elizabeth Berkley he is a shrimp. Elizabeth Berkley is as beautiful as ever and does a nice job as the PR exec Allie Keller. She does look a little young for the character she plays but she is never-the-less convincing. No one should have a problem with her performance. This is a nice film for Elizabeth Berkley fans and also for thriller & suspense enthusiasts but should be of interest to others as well. It is worth the watch and I'd say better than average.

where Brian de Palma had left us with "Dressed to Kill" in 1980. "Random Encounter" shares a number of features with de Palma best movies: an interesting and complicated story, a beautiful main character and a somehow smoothing music that contrasts with the intensity of the drama.As for the main character and her depth as an actress, I will make no judgment here. I think she does just what the director wanted her to do: be pretty and smart in circumstances in which most of us would just surrender without thinking any further.This movie is a living tribute to de Palma's work and it is, in my opinion, a very successful one.

I was surprised at how watchable and unpredictable this was. I don't think it was overtly obvious which suspect was behind this mystery, which is pretty good in my book. ALso, I liked the CHicago ambience. I noticed the cop's name was Royko, a tribute to the old time legendary CHicago journalist of the same name. I was blown away when the credits rolled and it was revealed that this was a purely French Candaian production.SPOILER ALERT BELOW THis was one of the worst endings to a film I have seen. What kind of ending is that? What happened to her boss (walking out of the board meeting is not symbolic enough for me. Does she get away with it? Was the intention to have the murder or was her boss telling the truth about his intentions? And what the heck was up with the credits rolling over shots of ELizabeth on golden pond with her dad?) I am dead sure that something halted production of this film for the ending to be so carelessly presented.

This suspense/thriller only got a 4.7 from IMDBers, but I'd give it another point, not quite a 6. As another reviewer said, Eliz is pretty good, better than in Showgirls, and she's never hard to look at. Interesting seeing her as an exec instead of a stripper in Showgirls, but some of those micro-skirts might almost be the same thing.The plot is ok, but the manner in which she is framed is just too much of a stretch. The movie will lose many viewers at that point ... the chances of things working out that way are about 1 in a million, and the framers are counting on it! But if ya can get by that, and like murder/suspense flicks, it's worth a couple bucks to rent. -Bob