Relay begins on a high note and rides that wave for at least a third of its runtime. Unfortunately any goodwill accumulated becomes inconsequential as inane plot twists are trotted out like clowns exiting a car.
Justin Piasecki's script sets up a truly clever premise: in a time where everyone can be tracked down by any teenager with an internet connection, a service to negotiate settlements between potential whistleblowers and corporations aims to keep people anonymous and safe. As one of these middlemen, Ash (Riz Ahmed) uses a telephone relay service to contact would-be whistleblowers in a bid to remain anonymous himself.
Sarah Grant (Lily James), a former bio-tech company employee, hires Ash after changing her mind about whistleblowing. Having stolen incriminating documents, Sarah's looking for a way to return them to her former employer and reach a settlement in exchange.
With shades of '70s espionage and '90s thrillers, Relay feels like the best of both worlds as we dive into a heist-but-not-a-heist film. Watching Ash evade hired goons and use "old" technology and methods (landlines and the postal service) is what engaging entertainment is made of — we're basically watching the final montage of a great caper, and maybe that's part of the problem.
The movie begins on the high most films in this genre spend the entire runtime working toward, and it would appear that the only way to go from there is down. Out of place (and supremely awkward) sexual tension is layered over Sarah and Ash's interactions — which, to be fair, does get explained later on but doesn't make it less arduous to sit through. The big plot twist can be seen a mile away and plays out with such outlandishness, the audience during my screening audibly laughed at one of the film's reveals.
Good ideas are hard to come by in Hollywood these days, excellent ones even more so, which makes movies like Relay particularly infuriating to watch. Perhaps it fell victim to studio influence, or trying to climb above the summit proved too difficult — whatever the reason, Relay squanders a unique premise, great performances and a compelling tonal aesthetic, all in the name of a stale popcorn flick.