THE STORY – A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.
THE CAST – Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington & Willa Fitzgerald
THE TEAM – David Mackenzie (Director) & Justin Piasecki (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 112 Minutes
Ash (Riz Ahmed) is a recovering alcoholic working as a delivery guy. How he really makes his money, though, is as an intermediary between scared potential whistleblowers and large corporations. Using a telephone relay service – designed for deaf people to make phone calls – to connect with both parties with complete anonymity, Ash brokers deals that ensure his clients and company data are kept safe by using low-tech solutions like the relay service and mail forwarding. Staying neutral and removed from his clients is important, but that changes when he gets a call from Sarah Grant (Lily James), a biotech scientist in possession of data that could ruin her former company, who demoted her, harassed her, and fired her after she spoke up internally. Ash feels something for her and allows her to push his boundaries against his better judgment. But when things start to go south in their negotiations, will Ash risk everything to help Sarah?
David Mackenzie’s “Relay” owes a debt to the paranoid thrillers of the ‘70s and the high-concept action thrillers of the ‘80s and ‘90s, but the film that it will remind most people of is likely 2007’s “Michael Clayton,” in which George Clooney plays a corporate fixer suddenly growing a conscience. “Relay” isn’t as airtight in its espionage antics as that Oscar winner, but Mackenzie directs it with a grounded slickness that makes everyday activities like mailing a package and wandering around an airport terminal seem like the most thrilling action sequences. Even the scenes involving the relay service, in which Ash is typing messages that the service operator reads out loud to the person on the other end and thus falls into a certain rhythm, can feel unbearably tense. Because Ash’s methods rely so much on exploiting obscure, often byzantine systems (mostly involving the US Postal Service), it’s tough to figure out what he’s doing, making the film incredibly exciting to watch. The audience is often placed in the shoes of the corporate team tracking Sarah as Ash leads them on several wild goose chases, giving the audience an appreciation for Ash’s cleverness from both sides.
Ahmed is a charismatic anchor at the film’s center. As things start to go south, the actor holds himself with more tension, making it easy to buy into his desperation as he pulls riskier and riskier stunts to ensure the safety of Sarah and her incriminating evidence. Scenes between Ash and his AA sponsor (Eisa Davis) draw a direct connection between this work and Ash’s addiction without being overly didactic, ensuring the film isn’t just a thrill ride. Ahmed’s chemistry with James is palpable despite the two of them never sharing the screen until the last act. James serves as an incredibly sympathetic audience surrogate for the first half, but after that, the film makes some choices with Sarah that serve the plot but betray the character the script initially establishes her to be.
Staying true to its genre roots, “Relay” throws in a third-act twist that is sure to divide audiences. While it’s thrilling in the moment and does cover some plot inconsistencies, it asks the audience to make a giant leap that completely alters the dynamics of the film. The further away you get from the film, the more sour of a taste the twist leaves in your mouth despite how cleverly Mackenzie sows the seeds for it early on. “Relay” is nothing if not clever throughout, and it’s admirable how well Mackenzie stays ahead of the audience, similar to how Ash stays ahead of the corporate goons on his tail. That said, for most of its runtime, “Relay” is one of the year’s best popcorn movies, and it’s a complete original, making it even more rare in today’s cinematic landscape.
