Directed By David Mackenzie

Starring – Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington

The Plot – A broker (Ahmed) of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client (James) seeks his protection to stay alive.

Rated R for adult language

Relay | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street

POSITIVES

After the lightning in a bottle that was 2016’s “Hell or High Water”, it was only a matter of time before David Mackenzie proved himself to being a highly compelling director of consistent quality, and “Relay” looks to be his solidification on such a branding, with a fearlessly invigorating grasp on the storytelling that underlines urgency and stakes to what is essentially a battle of wits between two respective sides. While it’s labeled as an action movie first, there’s really nothing of a physical conflict until the movie’s final twenty minutes, so instead, Justin Piasecki’s script conjures a dialogue-driven movie inspires audiences to invest in these characters in ways that are purely driven by adaptable intelligence, inspiring a slickly stunning homage to paranoid thrillers of the 70’s, that might get a little lost in the terminology of its corporate espionage, but never loses sight in connecting to an audience who are otherwise not knowledgeable of such business facets. Considering so much of the first two acts pertain to either phone conversations or money drop-offs, it would be responsible to think that the movie can’t thrive on these aspects alone, especially considering so many predecessors of the genre have done it first, but Piasecki also simultaneously taps into the underworld of this Tri-State relay communication center that seemingly uncovers a fascinating component behind every corner, and while the characters like Ahmed’s Ash are shrouded in mystique, as a result of their vital and uncompromising anonymity, the world-building of such a concept kept me faithfully glued throughout the engagement, with little in the way of lagged pacing to make this every bit the effortlessly transcendent experience that was Mackenzie’s aforementioned predecessor. In terms of direction, Mackenzie not only appraises a riveting tension and suspense to an objective that centers around leverage, but also allows the imagery of the film to play such a vital part in emulating the realities of its many victims, with subtle motions within the lens that inspires some unorthodox framing to our focus. Quite often, in the midst of a chase sequence or conflict, the camera will place the focused character on the left or right of the image, in order to constantly convey uncertainty in the many strangers that walk amongst James’ protagonist, as a means of eliciting paranoia and trepidation in the continuous hoops that she has to jump through, and when married with Tony Doogan’s periodically synth squeezed underlining in score, really inscribes a scintillating factor to these sequences that makes them thrive with vulnerability, not to mention the overwhelming danger of such a career for Ash that he proves irreplaceable towards. The same assessment can certainly be made for Ahmed’s talents front and center, for a movie that showcases his limitless talents, here with a calm cool factor to his subdued demeanor that is balanced earnestly by the intense level of facial acting during tense scenes that serves as our only insight into the emotional dynamics of the character. Lily James is also a breath of fresh air in effortlessly commanding empathy and trepidation to a woman with so much to lose, and considering her and Ahmed only share the screen for the last act of the movie, it’s downright remarkable how they’re palpable chemistry permeates a naturalistic connection between them that is easy to get lost in, a fact that the movie never loses sight of, throughout its nearly two hour runtime. Last but certainly not least, the cinematography here from Seamus McGarvey effectively taps into a claustrophobic New York state of mind that not only drives the narrative’s underlining vulnerability, but also brandishes several intoxicating views of the Big Apple that it gets interactive with, throughout its many set pieces. This aspect alone makes me thankful that a bigger studio like Bleeker Street produced it, as a cheaper canvas could’ve inspired gritty textures to the imagery that come across as desperate or artificially intended, but McGarvey utilizes the budget in ways that concoct three-dimensional tangibility to the distinguished setting, with a heavily populated area that makes it all the easier for the characters to move freely within their cat-and-mouse struggle.

NEGATIVES

While there’s plenty to praise about Mackenzie’s much-anticipated feature length follow up to “Hell or High Water”, there are some unfortunate setbacks that keep it from reaching the overwhelming praise of its predecessor, particularly a detracting third act that inspired some key detractors to my finished grade. For starters, there’s an unnecessary plot twist that comes out of nowhere near the end of the movie, and while it will definitely surprise most audiences for how unexpected it feels, doesn’t reshape the dynamics of the plot in any way that feels like a credible impact in the movie’s favor. If anything, because it happens so late in the engagement, it feels like the kind of late 90’s tacked-on surprise meant to inspire a memorable ending at the sacrifice of everything that came before it, and for my money I wish Mackenzie and Piasecki would’ve deviated against it, as it doesn’t draw out any level of palpable dramatics to a scene that centers around it. Beyond this, the resolution of the ending feels a bit rushed and conveniently orchestrated, which in turn left me feeling a bit unfulfilled by where it leaves our character’s during the closing moments. Considering the closing moments outline an overwhelming set of odds against Ash, I wish he could’ve used his cunning intelligence to omit danger, instead of receive some outside assistance, especially considering the isolation factor made for a far more endearing aspect to the film’s climax, but unfortunately the conflict concludes with the easiest kind of out that fit every aspect of the storytelling comfortably into its right place, and for a film with so much originality and insight into what is essentially just a cat-and-mouse battle of wits and resiliency, the ending feels like it phones it in with the most conventional route imaginable, perhaps as a means of shipping out for a sequel that it will never receive. Finally, despite the palpable chemistry previously mentioned from Riz Ahmed and Lily James, the surmising love angle during the film’s second act felt underdeveloped and undercooked towards feeling believable, especially within the confines of the questions about Ash’s character that even dialogue during their first physical interaction couldn’t effectively articulate. The biggest of these is definitely why Ash has internalized feelings for someone he hasn’t ever met? Is it her breathtaking beauty? Is it the empathy that he feels in trying to protect her? Or is it the loneliness that we hear so much about from him, yet never actually experience? For my money, if the script takes a little bit more time fleshing out their initial interactions, then it could’ve allowed her character a deeper insight that wasn’t required in some clumsy expositional dialogue, but instead the lack of aforementioned emphasis towards this suddenly appearing aspect feels like a studio note to make two people fall in love, rather than Ash being just a protector, and despite it being the most fascinating component of their dynamic, never feels fleshed out in a way that feels synthetic with the storytelling, as proof by the lack of sparks from the interaction that uncovered it.

OVERALL
“Relay” does fly a bit off of the tracks with its clunky late-act twist and undercooked romance that inspire a weak link of a third act, but it’s nevertheless a stimulatingly sleek and entertaining edge-of-your-seat showcase for Riz Ahmed, who combines brains and Braun for such a silent assassin of a protagonist. For his first feature length film in nearly a decade, David Mackenzie concocts a suspenseful thrill ride that dissects the morality of whistleblowing, played against the backdrop of New York City, with all of its shady business practices making the Big Apple taste bittersweet.

My Grade: 7.3 or C+