Those low key thrillers that were so prevalent in the 1970’s gets a revisit and a millennial update with Relay. Written by first time feature film writer Justin Piasecki this centres on Ash (Riz Ahmed) a sort of covert middleman acting on behalf of whistle blowers keeping them safe from the powerful companies who don’t want their dirty laundry being aired. In this instance it’s Sarah (Lily James) a former employee of a bioengineering company who uncovers documentation that is catastrophically bad for the company’s new product that they are about to launch. But rather than whistle blow Sarah just wants to return the documents in exchange for her safety and it is where Ash and his expertise comes in.
Never meeting his clients Ash uses ‘Relay’ a phone system intended for the deaf and hard of hearing whose employees read out typed messages and conversation between two parties that are protected by State secrecy laws. There’s none of the hi-tech jiggery-pokery that modern thrillers use instead its Ash typing away on what looks like a prototype electronic typewriter with a mobile phone attached that further protects his identity. But inevitably there’s a covert company funded gang after Sarah and in turn Ash that is led by Sam Worthington and the first two acts of the film are packed with their being ingeniously outsmarted by Ash.
Ahmed is effortlessly good in the role and is largely wordless for the first act, anonymous in the shadows with his own back story slowly and convincingly revealed in several low key AA meetings.
There’s a number of decent set pieces that includes an airport and alter on with a concert hall set piece that has its origins in Hitchcock’s The Man who knew too much (also borrowed for Mission Impossible Fallout). But it’s a hint at the plot devices ramping up for a bit of spectacle and the conventions of a modern day thriller when the cleverness of the build-up is abandoned for a somewhat vanilla shootout finale.
But don’t let that put you off because this is one of those rare things, the clever, low key and wholly engrossing modern day thriller.
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Here’s the Relay trailer…..
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