Relay (2025) Bleecker Street/Suspense-Thriller RT: 112 minutes Rated R (language) Director: David Mackenzie Screenplay: Justin Piasecki Music: Tony Doogan Cinematography: Giles Nuttgens Release date: August 22, 2025 (US) Cast: Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington, Willa Fitzgerald, Jared Abrahamson, Pun Bandhu, Eisa Davis, Matthew Maher, Seth Barrish, Victor Garber, Jamil Haque, Jamie Ann Burke, Madison Rae Lutz.
Rating: ****
It’s not often the Movie Guy gets thrown for a loop, but it does happen once in a while. It happened at No Way Out back in 1987. I did not see that final twist coming. It caused me to rethink everything I just saw. I had to go back and see it again so I could put it all together. I’m going to be doing the same with Relay. I’ll say no more on the matter. You know there’s a twist; that’s all you need to know.
Director David Mackenzie gave us one of the best films of the 2010s with the neo-western crime drama Hell or High Water. It spoke volumes about the times we lived in. His new film Relay doesn’t reach as high. It doesn’t have anything to say about our times and society’s ills. It’s just a well-crafted thriller that’s blessedly free of the sound and fury of the usual summer movie. It’s a movie for adults about adults with the mentality of adults. You won’t see any super-powered beings or animated characters in this one. THANK YOU, BLEECKER STREET!
I’m only going to give you a brief overview of the plot. I don’t want to spoil any of it for you. It’s about this guy named Tom (Ahmed, Sound of Metal). He works for a “relay service”. It’s an off-the-books outfit that facilitates tricky deals with corrupt corporations. His latest client Sarah (James, Baby Driver) is in a real bind. She has in her possession documents that prove major malfeasance on the part of a big pharmaceutical company. She originally planned to go public with what she knows, but they’ve scared her into changing her mind. She’s being followed by bad people who mean to silence her. She now wants to return the documents so she can walk away with her life. She contacts the relay service. Tom accepts the job on the condition she does exactly what he tells her.
THAT’S IT! I won’t say anymore about the plot of Relay. What I will say is that you need to stick with it. Some will find it slow-moving. It doesn’t have much in the way of action (e.g. shooting, chases and fights). It does, however, brim with suspense. The job isn’t as easy as just handing over the papers. Sarah basically has to jump through hoops, flying to different cities and mailing the documents to post office boxes. She has to hide, change phones and constantly look over her shoulder. All the while, she’s being followed a thuggish guy named Dawson (Worthington, Avatar) and his team in a gray van. In any event, stick with it, let it unfold, you won’t be sorry. It pays off in the end.
Relay is the third film this summer to earn a four-star rating from me, the others being the criminally underseen The Life of Chuck (it’s now on streaming, check it out!) and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (it revives the dying superhero genre). It’s a crackling thriller that plays an awful lot like a spy movie even though none of the characters are technically spies. The deliberate mechanics of the screenplay and the palpable sense of paranoia throughout keep the viewer interested and engaged.
The acting by all is very good. Ahmed is phenomenal as Tom, the broker whose career forces him to live a life of solitude. He can’t get close to anybody. He regularly attends AA meetings, but never speaks to the group. He never talks on the phone either. All communication is done through a third-party relay service; he types what he wants to say and another person reads the words. He perfectly captures the loneliness and disconnect of somebody in a profession that requires complete secrecy. James is also great as Sarah, a frightened woman who comes to depend on Tom to protect her. She too is disconnected from the world as she can’t trust anybody. Worthington, an actor I typically find fairly wooden, is actually pretty good as the lead goon trying to retrieve the documents for the company’s CEO.
Relay benefits from cool, sleek but not overly stylized cinematography by Giles Nuttgens and tight editing by Matt Mayer. The score by Tony Doogan augments the suspense. It really is a masterful movie. It’s a return to form for Mackenzie after he misstepped with the dull historical drama Outlaw King (2018). If he keeps making them this good, I can’t wait to see what he does next.
I’m going to end my review of Relay here. I truly hope all you adults give this amazing film a chance. It’s a great way to end the summer.
