Reviews

Mid-budget thrillers rarely make it to the big screen anymore so Relay is something of a rare beast.

Directed by Hell or High Water’s David Mackenzie, Relay tells the story of Ash (Riz Ahmed), a mysterious fixer who helps broker lucrative payoffs between potential whistleblowers and their corrupt corporations.

To protect his identity and the safety of his clients, Ash uses a device for the deaf and communicates solely through a relay service – meaning he types his messages on a typewriter-like device and a member of the relay service team reads them out to his client over the phone.

His next client is Sarah Grant (Lily James), who has been intimidated and threatened by her former employers because she managed to sneak out incriminating evidence about their genetically enhanced wheat.

Grant doesn’t want to go public with the information anymore and simply wants to give the documents back in exchange for her safety and a quiet life.

You might be wondering how a film about the exchange of documents could be thrilling. Well, Relay turns into a chase scenario as Ash and Sarah have to throw her company’s enforcers – led by Dawson (Sam Worthington) and Rosetti (Willa Fitzgerald) – off their scent and send them on a wild goose chase to retrieve the evidence.

Dawson, Rosetti and co. are frustrated with Ash always being one step ahead and try to win back control of the situation.

The story is tense, intriguing and gripping from the outset and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing all the way to the end. The two lead characters are interesting and it’s a thrill to watch all the plot developments unfold.

Because of the relay concept, we don’t see Ahmed and James together on-screen very much. It could have become quite boring watching them communicate via a third party, but those scenes are edited so tightly that they maintain the energy and momentum.

You never really learn much about their characters, but this creates a sense of mystery that works in the film’s favour. You don’t need to know everything about them – it’s about the case, and the leads do a great job of selling the stakes and the paranoia.

Relay is an old-school thriller that often ends up on streaming services these days, so it’s refreshing to see one in the cinema.

In cinemas from Friday 31st October.

By Hannah Wales.

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