Tribeca Film Festival Review: ‘Relay’

Relay, the latest from Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, is an insanely slick nail-biter that thrives on a top-tier lead performance from Riz Ahmed and some inventive execution that puts a fresh spin on modern espionage-thrillers. 

With Relay, Mackenzie and writer Justin Piasecki establish an intriguing high-stakes world where corporate whistleblowers seek out fixers to broker a deal that lets everyone walk away cleanly. At the center of it all is Ash (Ahmed), a loner who goes to great lengths to protect his clients and give them leverage in these high-power tradeoffs. While our first impression of Ash is that he’s incredibly experienced and calculated, it doesn’t wipe away the paranoia that looms over everything. One wrong move from him or the client could blow the entire thing up and cause everyone to catch a bullet — especially Ash. All the sweat-inducing tension of Ash’s line of work is built flawlessly from the beginning and escalates with a new task of helping a woman named Sarah (Lily James) escape intimidating pursuers. 

While the opening scene of Ash completing a job gives viewers a taste of his sly presence, this new mission sees him perform a mouth-watering gourmet feast of crowd-pleasing thrills. As Ash’s planning and skills come together, you can’t help but be enamored by his methodical approach. He’s very chess-like in his thinking, where he’s 10 steps ahead of everyone and he showcases some crafty adaptiveness that leads to some riveting twists and turns. There’s an amazing scene in an airport where Ash is in full control, giving Sarah an edge while sending her pursuers on a wild goose chase. It’s so much fun to see his ideas develop and he’s very good at creating misdirections that result in satisfying surprises. Not to mention, he’s got a wide skill set that’s cool to see in action. His disguises and name-changing evoke all types of secret agent vibes, and that strange keyboard he uses showcases him as a shadowy hacker. Plus, he comes with various tools that help him in the field.

To remain anonymous to Sarah and anyone who’s tapping their calls, Ash communicates through a transit relay service, which allows for people with hearing or speech impairments to talk over the phone through a human operator. With there being no call records and a new voice usually talking for Ash each time, this service allows him to totally fly under the radar — and it’s awesome. It’s a very well-conceived concept from Piasecki that grounds the film perfectly and is excellently captured by Mackenzie to keep a consistent sense of mystery around Ash. It’s one of the most intriguing elements to a modern thriller like this in recent memory, and it gives Relay a distinctly urban flavor.

In general, Ash is a very compelling character who’s just as captivating outside of the thrills and chills he provides. There’s a deeply intriguing arc of Ash questioning his morality that’s felt even when he’s not speaking. Honestly, for the first third of the film or so, he’s totally silent. But Mackenzie and Piasecki utilize some effective slow-drip storytelling. From him dealing with personal demons that cause him to be alone to some well-placed check-ins with a character from the opening, there’s this inner turmoil within Ash that’s easy to connect with. For the first time, he’s questioning whether he actually creates necessary change or keeps it from happening. His budding relationship with Sarah adds more fuel to those burning conflicts, and it leads to some powerful emotional reckonings. He slowly becomes more invested and involved with Sarah’s case and it heightens the thrills as things go a little awry.

At the center of it all is Ahmed, giving a remarkable performance that showcases why he’s such an underrated talent. Whether he’s silently crafting the latest step in his plan or breaking his own rules to get closer to Sarah, Ahmed is a captivating force you can’t take your eyes off of. He displays some smile-inducing charm in the unique slickness he brings to the role and gives Ash’s growing inner divide the gut-punching emotion it needs. Not to mention, every scene between Ahmed and James is perfect, as they balance this client/fixer dynamic that’s complicated by an emerging attachment. 

For about the first two-thirds, Relay hits these almost masterful highs where everyone brings their A-game. Unfortunately, the final third drags things out too much and nearly upends its smooth ride. Basically, Ash and Sarah’s arc together ends on a fitting yet bittersweet conclusion that is satisfying until the film decides that’s not good enough. Instead, we get a last stretch that’s tacked on and forces puzzle pieces to fit. To be fair, what happens doesn’t take the film from “excellent” to “terrible,” and there’s honestly some great stuff still that nearly saves the experience entirely. There’s a twist that’s so shocking that it knocks you on your ass and actually ties up some of the loose ends this last act presents. It’s also fun to see Mackenzie play around with some chase scenes that see Ash have to face danger head-on. But, it all feels so unnecessary and takes away from the tight thrill ride that came before. 

Relay is a strong showing for everyone involved—despite it almost being over encumbered by some forced finale story extensions. Ahmed, Mackenzie, and Piasecki combine their talents to create a riveting espionage thriller with some connective personal threads, sharp brushes with danger, and clever ideas that culminate in a genuine crowd-favorite.

Relay is currently playing the festival circuit.