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Relay
Before the U.S. premiere screening of Relay at Tribeca Film Festival, director David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) in his remarks talked about whistleblowers. He talked about how with admirable courage they risk their lives even though the result may not be as expected or hoped for. With screenwriter Justin Piasecki’s surprising, unpredictable plot and character development, Relay pays homage to whistleblowers and the films that curated their stories, some truthful (Silkwood), some fictional (Three Days of the Condor, The Conversation).
Whether past or more recent (i.e. Michael Mann’s The Insider), films about people risking themselves to expose corruption grow more vital for our times as more and more corporations cover up abuses, malfeasance and deaths to protect their bottom lines. Only whistleblowers with inside knowledge can hold them to account. Mackenzie’s thriller Relay reflects such films.
The Principal Characters
A research scientist and “insider,” Sarah Grant (Lily James), holds a dossier with incriminating information about a dangerous product a bio-tech company plans to release in the global marketplace. Because of harassment and bullying by the company’s “security,” Sarah decides she wants out and will make a deal to return the dossier in exchange for her peace of mind. Seeking help, she approaches a legal firm that puts her in touch with Ash (Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal), a fixer whom she may hire. Ash makes arrangements between corrupt companies and employees who become too frightened to give testimony and wish to be bought off and left alone. In the main, Ash covertly helps protect whistleblowers from threats to life and livelihood by the corporate interests they hope to expose.
Because Ash must remain undercover to protect himself and his clients, mystery surrounds him well into the film. He lives a minimalist, solitary existence, a cypher. On the other hand the film allows us to make assumptions about Sarah as a brilliant, moral research scientist with a heart, terrorized by the company that wants her silenced. As the plot develops, we learn of Ash’s recovering alcoholism and friendship with a female cop he met during AA meetings.
Taut Scenes Between Client and Fixer
To keep anonymous and avoid voice recognition in his communications with Sarah, Ash uses a phone-to-text relay system employing New York Relay Service, designed to help deaf people make phone calls. When he types a message, an operator reads it aloud, then types the responses. The operators can’t repeat what they hear and don’t record or store the calls, nor can the messages be subpoenaed by a court or subject to a FOIA request.
To put pressure on all who help the whistleblowers, companies hire security and cyber surveillance experts to monitor a whistleblower’s moves. Here they retain the services of Dawson (Sam Worthington), who makes her life hell as he tracks her. Ash tries to free Sarah from the company, protecting her by keeping a copy of the dossier hidden in a storage bin known only to him. He can use this as leverage if the company bothers Sarah.
Suspense
The first half of film creates intrigue and suspense as it details the relays (text conversations) between Sarah and Ash. In these texts he instructs her what to do to avoid Dawson and where to pick up packages of burner phones, etc. As we wait for the relays the tension created keeps us mesmerized. These covert exchanges have twists and ruses to throw off the scent. Making drops of packages and changing where Sarah lives and sleeps allows Ash and Sarah to stay one step ahead of the infuriated Dawson, who finds Ash an opponent perhaps more expert than he had assumed.
Murphy’s Law
Yet Murphy’s Law abides. If something can go wrong it goes wrong. Dawson begins to catch up to Ash’s activities with some help from a source revealed only in the last 10 minutes of the film. Another problem occurs when Sarah and Riz meet face to face and Sarah compels him to empathize with her beyond his objective role.
Attempting to correct a mistake of Sarah’s, Ash stumbles and becomes recognizable. Dawson and his female sidekick pursue Sarah and Ash across the New York City landscape right into Times Square, for some incredible and humorous moments. Ash must pull a rabbit out of a hat and flip the script for a twist beyond twists to protect his client and save both of their lives. He succeeds until the bottom falls out. Some might think the final scenes unearned.
Mackenzie’s pacing rings with authenticity and the chase scenes and silences during the unnerving relays keep us on the edge of our seats. Gritty shots of the more run-down sections of the city against the elegant modern skyscrapers and floor-to-ceiling windowed interiors make for excellent contrasts of lifestyles. Finally, the superb performances strike fire and interest throughout.
Relay opens August 21, 2025. See it for its currency, atmosphere, righteous fervor, and surprises.
