Relay (2024)
Relay grabs you right away, and doesn't let go. It's the best thriller production I've seen in several years. The corporate espionage story stars
Riz Ahmed, Lily James and
Sam Worthington; directed by David Mackenzie.
Riz plays a highly anonymous broker/go between who effects payouts and safety for corporate whistleblowers. Through complicated intermediaries facilitated via a telecom relay service, he accepts a new client played by Lily James who claims she's so scared for her life that she simply wants to give back damning corporate secret documents she's stolen in exchange for the company agreeing to not come after her. That serves as the basis for the story, which provides undercover operations, wild rides, heart pounding chases, and a surprise twist near the end.
The story is intelligent and well thought out. The production design and cinematography are first rate.
The spy and technology aspects put me in mind of
The Conversation and
Enemy of the State, while several nods are given to Alfred Hitchcock, especially in a concert hall scene reminiscent of
The Man Who Knew Too Much.
This is an increasingly rare picture where everything works, and climaxes in a gratifying ending.
Doc's rating: 9/10