Relay (15)

Ash is a silent fixer, who supports and protects whistleblowers that have stolen evidence of corporate malfeasance. Using a relay service to conceal his voice and identity, Ash acts as an invisible go-between, negotiating terms that ensure his client escapes punishment in return for keeping evidence under lock and key. Bioengineering company employee Sarah Grant reaches out to Ash through an intermediary and he cautiously takes up her case.

LondonNet Film Review

Relay (15) Film Review from LondonNet

How do you communicate safely and securely when big brother is always listening and watching? Director David Mackenzie’s ingenious thriller engineers a high-stakes game of cats and mice on the streets of New York using a real-life messaging relay service, which facilitates lively discourse between deaf and hearing communities. A deaf person uses a special keyboard to type out their half of a conversation and a relay assistant with a similar terminal reads aloud the typed message to the hearing person. The call recipient replies verbally and the relay assistant types the response word for word so the deaf person can read it. Back and forth it goes…

Screenwriter Justin Piasecki ruthlessly exploits the simple mechanics of a relay service to conceal the identity of the film’s crusading hero until exposure becomes an inevitability. The big twist relies on misdirection that feels like a blatant cheat in hindsight. Leading man Riz Ahmed barely utters a word on screen for the opening hour and his performance is magnetic. Through facial expressions and gestures, he conveys every emotion churning under the calm façade of his fixer, who lurks in the shadows and protects the innocent to atone for his own failings. He kindles palpable chemistry with co-star Lily James from a tantalising distance.

Ash (Ahmed) is a silent fixer, who supports and protects whistleblowers that have stolen evidence of corporate malfeasance and are terrified they will be permanently silenced to suppress the truth. Using a relay service to conceal his voice and identity, Ash acts as an invisible go-between, negotiating terms that ensure his client escapes punishment in return for keeping evidence under lock and key. Bioengineering company employee Sarah Grant (James) has damning proof that her corporate behemoth intends to sell genetically engineered grain, which could revitalise farming communities in developing countries and end global famine, but will have harmful side effects in the human food chain.

She reaches out to Ash through an intermediary and he cautiously takes up her case. Covert surveillance confirms that Sarah is being watched by Dawson (Sam Worthington) and his associates Rosetti (Willa Fitzgerald), Ryan (Jared Abrahamson) and Lee (Pun Bandhu). They are stationed outside her apartment and have bugged her phone. Using a series of disguises and technical failsafes, Ash sends Dawson and co down a rabbit hole of bogus leads to distract the high-tech pursuers while he shepherds Sarah to safety.

Relay successfully mines the deep-rooted paranoia of classic big screen thrillers and is satisfyingly plausible until the frenetic final act. Screenwriter Piasecki can’t quite nail the landing and he relies on outrageous good fortune rather than cunning and logic to facilitate Ash’s hastily conceived masterplan. Ahmed is fiercely compelling even when the film around him threatens to derail.

– Sarah Lee