Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: RELAY [Tribeca Film Festival 2025 - New York, NY]

The aspect of consequence only works if one truly feels for the characters. With "Relay" [US Premiere/Spotlight Narrative] for three-quarters of its running time, it really has it all and has the intent, motive, tone and necessity. In trying to do a twist at the end, it loses what it had going for it. Even though it already has its US distribution, that last bit is a letdown. And with the cast that it has that can mean the difference between a sleeper hit and a run-of-the-mill. It should do alright but the reality is that it has everything that "The Amateur" had for much less money. And "The Amateur" was well done but underappreciated. It seems that this was partially shot in NY but it seems like Scotland was used primarily as its location. Riz Ahmad plays a fixer called Ash who helps his clients find balance after messy corporate exits and helps protect them. The film begins with the set up of showing the last person he helped and wonderfully shows the actual process in how it works. The film then introduces Sarah Grant (a slightly more unrecognizable Lily James -- this reviewer thought it actually was Lily Collins -- but with the dark hair James also does bear a resemblance to Anna Paquin). James' character is being bullied by a corporate team and just wants to be left alone.

The film, directed by David McKenzie ("Hell Or High Water") does a really good job of showing the tit-for-tat, the increasing inter-reliance of the characters but also the mechanical precision which slowly becomes undone. The "relay" refers to a service which masks what Ash does by using a third party service in NYC to hide his tracks through teletype but also a lack of records. It is an ingenious plot ploy especially in the age of technology. The corporate team trailing Grant which Ash needs to angle back on to is headed by Sam Worthington (with a bleach job of sorts) and Willa Fitzgerald (most recently seen in Prime's "Reacher"). They know what they are doing but it is only a matter of time until Ash can't control a certain aspect and they can get a leg up but only after he has been way ahead of him. it works exceptionally well up to the aftermath of an opera set piece. It works well.

The aspect of Grant making small errors is totally believable and James wonderfully encapsulates it. There are a couple of loose ends but it seems that most of them would be resolved but also with a background story of what brought Ash to this line of work, it is wonderfully representative and accessible. Then the last quarter of the film happens and tries to make a big twist work, but the film doesn't need it. If it was corrected and things were rectified as the film was initially moving towards, "Relay" would have been a morality story but also one where people would feel good (with perhaps a happier ending). It could also leave certain aspects unresolved but it rebuilds instead for a set piece that takes it in a different direction. It actually takes away the chemistry the story had. Producer Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road who also is responsible for the "John Wick" franchise saw the potential in this as did all the cast. However "Relay" works very well until it doesn't not through the fault of the cast but just the third act itself. B

By Tim Wassberg

Previous
Previous

Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: SHAM [Tribeca Film Festival 2025 - New York, NY]

Next
Next

Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: IN COLD LIGHT [Tribeca Film Festival 2025 - New York, NY]