Relay Twists Emotional Tension Into Razor-Sharp Suspense

Relay

★ ★ ★ ½

Relay is a neat little espionage thriller, taut with tension and driven more by drama than by high-stakes action. That’s not to say there isn’t action in this film, but only when the story requires it—nothing less, nothing more. It’s a well-crafted story, briskly paced, with characters that feel lived-in and authentic. I suspect this may be one of the more overlooked films of 2025 given its lack of advertising—but rest assured, it’s one to see.

Ash (Riz Ahmed) brokers deals between whistleblowers and corrupt corporations. These whistleblowers soon realize they’re in over their heads—taking on corporate giants is insurmountable, and rarely worth the risk. The corporations want their stolen secrets back. Ash ensures the safety of former employees and the security of corporate secrets—for a sizable fee he splits with the whistleblower. He survives by concealing his identity and living by strict rules of engagement.

Riz Ahmed as Ash
© 2025 Bleeker Street

Ash only communicates through a New York ADA relay service. It’s a free service that provides communication for people with speech and hearing disabilities, using telephone lines connected through a communication assistant. The assistant is the middleman between two callers. He uses this service because call records are deleted and there’s a strict adherence to confidentiality because of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It’s his loophole in an age of near-total surveillance.

Sarah (Lily James) is in need of Ash’s services, because she discovered anomalies in her company’s product safety statements. What’s being made public is grossly fabricated, and she has the data that proves it. She attempts to confront the corporation, only to be let go with a sizable severance in exchange for a confidentiality agreement. She refuses, and the company uses threatening, aggressive tactics to get their secrets back. When she seeks legal counsel, the lawyer refuses her case but connects her with Ash.

Lily James as Sarah
© 2025 Bleeker Street

Ash only speaks when he has to—a trait greatly strengthened by Ahmed’s performance. He’s a disciplined man who sticks hard to his rules. He doesn’t get emotionally involved. His social life is little more than an Alcoholics Anonymous group and conversations with his sponsor, police detective Wash (Eisa Davis).

In keeping Sarah protected, and navigating her through the dangers of corporate espionage, he does start to develop a soft spot for Sarah. As you can imagine, this is where things get tricky for Ash.

This is a strong, tightly wound thriller that doesn’t need a lot of violent action to hold our interest. As Ash’s walls come down and he starts to break rules to keep Sarah safe, the tension mounts. The corporation’s surveillance team, the ones who have been harassing Sarah from the get-go, get closer to Ash and his identity.

As an action fan, it surprises me to say that the film’s weakest moments come in the last act where everything culminates in a violent showdown. It fits the story, but it’s where the film shifts from fresh and original to disappointingly routine. The film would have been stronger had it ridden the cat-and-mouse tension all the way to a final, pressure-cooked apex.

Sam Worthington as Dawson
© 2025 Bleeker Street

In tone, it recalls David Fincher’s The Game where Michael Douglas spirals as his reality unravels while he tries to unblur the line between actual game or staged conspiracy. Or Nightcrawler where Jake Gyllenhaal’s unhinged ambition hurtles toward a morally chilling conclusion where the violence is baked in the tension, but physically restrained.

Even so, Relay finishes strong, with a twist that sticks the landing and delivers a satisfying conclusion. It’s the delicate relationship that builds between Ash and Sarah—he softens his rules because of his compassion for her. She makes things more dangerous because she doesn’t fully understand why his rules exist.

While it’s a solid thriller on its own, Ahmed’s performance keeps the story moving and the film compelling. I hope I never need a corporate whistleblower broker—but if I did, I’d want someone like Ash on the other end of the line.