Relay | The Deight Night Review
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| Relay (2025, David MacKenzie, Black Bear) |
Continuing his track record of working solely on lower budget films, Riz Ahmed leads the cast of the throwback thriller Relay, directed by David Mackenzie (the man behind Hell Or High Water and Outlaw King), where he plays a mysterious fixer whose services are required by Sarah Grant (Lily James), a science graduate that's had cold feet after attempting to leak a pharmaceutical scandal heralded by her previous company, who have continued to threaten and stalk her despite her no longer wishing to go through with the leak. The Fixer is called in to make sure that she's able to give back the incriminating evidence in return for her privacy and safety which he orchestrates from a relay service originally intended for calls between people with hearing difficulties that the Fixer uses to disguise his voice. It all seems to be going to plan, but the corporate agents (led by Sam Worthington and Willa Fitzgerald) tracking Grant still don't trust her and have other plans for the return of their evidence.
Relay is the sort of the film that isn't made anymore, it's a film that harkens back to the likes of The Conversation and Blow Out with its conspiracy themes and its main character using some form of audio device to assist in their investigations. The usage of the titular relay service throughout the film gives it so much atmosphere and character whilst also adding to the film's nail biting tension. The relay service is used continuously throughout the film and allows for several call centre employees to give Riz Ahmed his voice, making his character virtually silent for the vast majority of the runtime. The different call centre voices add such a delicious layer of mystery to the character despite the service initially being meant as a charitable cause. To say its the highlight of the film may seem extreme but it really does give the film so much character and makes it all the more memorable as a result.
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| Relay (2025, David Mackenzie, Black Bear) |
Conspiracy thrillers can often get too bogged down in all the many facets of a company or government's corruption, explaining all the various levels of hierarchy that are filled with bad eggs and never really making it clear which names you're meant to remember. Relay's script does away with this bug bear and, in part thanks to the lack of dialogue, gives all the information you need whilst never feeling like it's treating the audience like children. Instead, important beats and actions are told through rare simplistic dialogue (reflecting the blunt nature of Riz Ahmed's Fixer) and shots of props and actors' expressions. The term "show don't tell" has never been truer than in a viewing of Relay and as a result it's a masterfully characterful, human and tense thriller.
There are certainly no Oscar contending performances in Relay, but that's by no means going against it. Riz Ahmed has the challenge of drawing the audience in to his character who barely speaks, spending most of the film typing on a keyboard and yet he manages to exceed expectations. The glimpses you get into the Fixer's humanity are given such vulnerability by Ahmed who shows the lonelier side to the enigmatic and intelligent master of corporate espionage. Sam Worthington has a commanding presence on screen as he gives a darker version of his performance from the miniseries Manhunt in which he starred as a government agent tracking down the Unabomber. Here, his ruthless hunting takes a more sinister edge as he works against someone who's nowhere near as scary as Ted Kaczynski, Lily James - who plays her role in a suitably emotional and coy way, though as the film progresses, it seems she may have been slightly miscast.
Relay is a glorious thriller that revels in its simplicity and reaps its tense atmosphere as a result. It's a rare case of a film that was so clearly made for the love of the art form and an adoration of its inspirations that the care and respect leaks in gallons out from the screen. It most likely won't make a dent in the Halloween box office but it's destined to become a cult classic in years to come.
★★★★
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