Written by: Justin Piasecki
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington, Willa Fitzgerald, Jared Abrahamson
Rating: [3/5]
Even when not displaying the best quality, thrillers seek to provide entertainment through their gripping stories filled with twists and turns. It serves as one of the better genres, where even the worst of them have some value. Relay sits right in the middle of this idea within its genre, purely because it develops a fun concept through its narrative but it takes such a completely shocking turn that it nearly deflates the entire film. Quite the experience, and not in a good way.
After disagreeing with a decision that will potentially hurt others, Sarah (Lily James) has decided to smuggle out proprietary information from her former employer that has now put her in danger. She enlists the services of a fixer that helps return documents whistleblowers extract for a price, named Ash (Riz Ahmed). However, he operates in a unique where all communication happens through the utilization of a relay service to preserve anonymity.
Typically, when watching films centered on whistleblowers they seek to expose for the good of many, but the fear of this situation makes Sarah deeply regret that decision and seeks to return the information back in exchange for safety. Certainly a different spin and adding in the wrinkle of this unique communication method means we have ourselves a movie. For the most part, this film delivers on providing entertainment, but before that gets delved into, we need to discuss why this film does not have a higher score.
This comes solely from the mind-boggling reveal the narrative takes right when the rubber begins to meet the road. Now, I typically do not like to indicate that some big twist will transpire to protect the sanctity of the viewer experiencing for the first time, but we have an exception here. Not only does it upend everything we have seen before, but it does so in a manner that nearly ruins the entire film. This film was riding high and delivering all the thrills one could want, but this truly was something else. Funnily enough, heading into this film, I heard the critiques about the reveal and I could not believe a film could have such an incident that could deflate it, but believe me, it’s the truth in this instance.
Getting to the good, everything prior to the third act reveal brings the entertainment one would want from this type of film. We receive a combination of Sarah frighteningly navigating throughout her days and following the detailed instructions by Ash as he develops his plan to get her out of this situation. There’s something satisfying about watching a professional do well in their chosen line of work, which we see with Ash as he consistently outwits the group attempting intimidating Sarah led by Dawson (Sam Worthington). Every time they think they have gained the upper hand, Ash proves once again what makes him so good at his job.
Fixating on the use of the relay service adds such a unique spin to this film and it also taught me that this service actually exists. Utilized for the deaf and hard of hearing community, Ash utilizes this to his advantage as it provides a secure and untraceable way to communicate with his clients. A genius approach to take and one that continues to ramp up the tension as it breaks all the conventions of how individuals communicate as they have this service in the middle conveying the messages between Ash and the other person on the line. This element of the film intrigued me alone and allowed me to appreciate the work done by those individuals who work in these centers and assist with this communication.
If looking for a thriller that seeks to entertain, Relay delivers on that front by utilizing not only a unique form of communication, but also a treacherous situation to navigate. This film has so much to enjoy and appreciate, but it gets docked major points in its major third act reveal that, even as I write this, leaves me aghast at the decision made. Despite that, I would still recommend this film not just for the quality but for anyone to experience that reveal if they don’t believe me when I say how it nearly ruins the entire movie.
Films with Josh 
