Drug companies are constantly trying to hide evidence and cover up their misdeeds. When potential whistleblowers come across this damning information, they often find their lives in danger. These companies will pay and do anything to silence potential whistleblowers and destroy any evidence. That’s where Ash (Riz Ahmed) comes in. He’s a fixer of sorts, serving as a middleman for the payoff and handover of documents between a company and the potential whistleblower. He uses an anonymous relay messaging service for all communication, and never talks directly with either party. In fact, he even utilizes a teletypewriter device when communicating via the Tri-State Relay Service so that his voice can never be overheard if the line is tapped. Though he does don disguises in order to keep a close eye on his client. If all goes as planned, the company receives its documents back, the client receives some money to disappear, and Ash receives a stipend for his services and keeps a safety copy of the documents in a secure location in order to ensure the ongoing cooperation of the company and safety of his clients.

Sarah Grant (Lily James) is a scientist who worked for a biotech company when she came across evidence of an unlawful cover-up. She had noticed that the food product she was developing had significant and dangerous side effects. But when she raised her concerns to senior management, she was ignored and reassigned. She took a copy of the food safety assessment as evidence and was planning to go public, but now she is facing increasing harassment, and fears for her safety. She just wants to give the evidence back and get on with her life. So she contacts Ash for help. She sees people parked in a van in front of her home, watching her. These people—Dawson (Sam Worthington), Rossetti (Willa Fitzgerald), Ryan (Jared Abrahamson) and Lee (Pun Bandhu)—were no doubt hired by the company to handle the situation. But Ash is skilled at this and seemingly two steps ahead of them at any moment. With the company going public in just a few weeks, they are eager to end this situation ASAP. However, as the process goes on, Ash finds himself drawn to Sarah and starts to let down his guard and break his own rules. Could this ultimately lead to his demise?

Relay is a taut, gripping thriller, and a tense game of cat and mouse. I really enjoyed this creative aspect of using the relay service for communication, where calls are never recorded, and phone numbers are never logged. It gives this interesting, and somewhat secure way for these folks to communicate, and it’s surprisingly compelling to watch. Riz Ahmed is great in this role. Ash is a very private figure with a complicated past of alcohol addiction, which is slowly explored over the course of the film. Ahmed is really able to convey this complexity of the character, even when he’s not saying much. Ash is incredibly intelligent and skilled, and seems to have a contingency plan for everything. Normally he remains cool and calculated, and doesn’t let his emotions get involved in his work. But there’s something about Sarah that causes him to let his guard down. He is drawn to her and wants to ensure her safety, even when she makes mistakes that would cause him to immediately drop any other client. However these lapses in judgement are just what the ruthless team he’s up against are looking to take advantage of. Lily James also gives a strong performance as this scared woman trying to do right. Despite not really directly sharing the screen together for much of the film, Ahmed & James have this great chemistry with one another. The film takes an interesting and unexpected turn in the final act. When I first saw the movie in the theater, I didn’t think this really worked. However, upon a rewatch on this Blu-ray release, I had less of an issue with it.

Decal Releasing has released Relay only on Blu-ray & DVD for physical media, but it is also available in 4K on digital. We were sent the Blu-ray version for review. The visual presentation is excellent, with a clean, clear picture and a solid level of detail throughout. The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to provide an immersive experience. A lot of the time we see Ash out and about in the city, and that ambiance of the sounds of New York City are ever present.

The Blu-ray release is barebones, containing just the film and no bonus material. The disc is packed in a standard HD keepcase. Our review copy did not include any slipcover. As with all Decal releases, no digital copy is included.

What’s Included:

Film (1:51:52):

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Audio Description DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Extras:

No bonus material

Final Thoughts:

Relay is an excellent thriller, using a familiar theme of a fixer trying to help someone in trouble, but via a unique communication mechanism. The story takes some twists and turns, but always remains tense and exciting. It has a great cast, interesting characters and strong performances. The Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds great, but the disc is barebones and doesn’t include any bonus material. That said, it’s still worth a look based on the film and performances alone.