It’s no secret that the director of Hell or Excessive Water, David Mackenzie, is aware of the right way to escalate pressure in a movie. Paired with a tightly written script from Justin Piasecki and must-see performances from Riz Ahmed and Lily James, Mackenzie’s Relay turns into a dynamic, layered movie that’s hypnotic to look at.
Even because the movie reaches its apex and threatens to carry down its immaculate pacing, Relay stays on high with a well-placed twist or two. The movie would possibly simply be one of many greatest surprises of 2025, expertly weaving an intense story that ensures your eyes by no means stray from the display screen.
The story itself is straightforward on the floor. Sarah Grant (James), a researcher with Optimum Prescription drugs, was almost a whistleblower. Ousted from her job after sounding the alarm about disturbing analysis that may gravely have an effect on hundreds of individuals, and having stolen paperwork she needs to present again, Sarah will get in contact with a relay service dealer — Ahmed, whose character’s actual identify, Ash (brief for Ashraf), isn’t revealed till the movie’s last act — who turns into the center man between her and the workforce employed by Optimum Prescription drugs, led by Sam Worthington’s Dawson, to retrieve the paperwork (and kill her).
Relay Is An Intense Watch From The Begin
The movie isn’t a slow-burn thriller; from the very first scene, we’re on the sting of our seats, holding our breath to see what occurs. Early on, Ash follows Hoffman (Matthew Maher), who’s simply made an trade with a pissed off CEO (Victor Garber), however we’re undecided at first whether or not he’s tailing him to kill him or defend him. Seems he’s merely chargeable for guaranteeing his shoppers — the whistleblower and company heads — comply with by on the deal.
It’s well-played from the beginning, and Relay toys with our feelings all through because it doles out data in increments, by no means revealing greater than it must at any given second. The stress is baked into the movie in ways in which different thrillers might solely dream of, and it by no means lets up, even once I thought it could at one level or one other. The movie is aware of the right way to keep our curiosity, but it surely additionally doesn’t maintain our hand in the case of explaining the way in which issues work. It’s layered into the plot so no type of exposition is handed out without delay.
[Ahmed & James] give gorgeous turns… layering their performances with a wide range of feelings and reactions.
When necessary data is revealed, the thriller depends on the nuanced facial expressions of its actors to relay sure emotions. For a lot of the movie, Ahmed and James don’t share the display screen — they impart primarily by the relay telephone service — and but it at all times seems like they’re connecting as if they’re speaking to one another in the identical room. Their chemistry is palpable, and Relay mines that for all its value, turning their relationship into the anchor that makes us care about what occurs to them subsequent.
Ahmed and James are wonderful. They’ve at all times been nice, however their abilities are elevated right here. In Relay, they provide gorgeous turns as Ash and Sarah, respectively, layering their performances with a wide range of feelings and reactions. They efficiently convey concern, loneliness, and nail-biting urgency. They each imbue their characters with a gravitas that grounds the story, all whereas the movie’s thrills proceed constructing to a boiling level.
Relay Is The Type Of Thriller That Doesn’t Spoon-Feed Us Info
On the similar time, the movie doesn’t at all times go in a predictable course. It retains us on our toes in that manner. It retains a stage of anxiety-inducing stress that permeates the movie with out swallowing it entire. Mackenzie and Piasecki perceive that the thrills and motion would imply nothing if the characters weren’t folks we cared about. It will simply be empty pleasure.
There’s a degree within the story when the sport of cat and mouse between Ash and Dawson’s workforce begins to wane, however the movie by no means totally dips, which may occur with most thrillers that may’t hold the strain up. That is helped by a number of nice plot developments and tight enhancing from Matt Mayer, which cements the movie as an intricate motion thriller with a stable basis and actors who totally have interaction with the fabric.
I haven’t been this excited a couple of thriller shortly, and Relay delivers in all of the methods a movie like this could. It’s obtained the whole lot — tense chase sequences, anxious and cautious telephone calls, and heart-to-hearts between Sarah and Ash that underscore their characters’ want for true connection. There have been so few distinctive thrillers in recent times, however Relay is definitely one in every of them.
Relay
8/10
- Launch Date
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August 22, 2025
- Runtime
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112 minutes
- Director
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David Mackenzie
- Writers
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Justin Piasecki, David Mackenzie
- Producers
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Basil Iwanyk, Gillian Berrie, Teddy Schwarzman