For many years, David Mackenzie was an incredibly prolific British filmmaker with a new movie every two years, but then after making the acclaimed Hell or High Water and its follow-up Outlaw King, the latter in 2018, Mackenzie seemed to drift towards television during COVID.
Now, Mackenzie is back in movie theaters with Relay, a film starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington, set in the world of corporate whistleblowers, with Ahmed playing a mysterious nameless individual called upon to act as a mediator with corporations when employees find proof that they’re doing bad things. In this case, Ahmed’s character has to help James’ Sarah, a scientist who discovers her company’s wrongdoing but decides to return the documented proof when she feels threatened, not helped by the fact that Worthington has a group following her around. The title of the film comes from the relay service that Ahmed’s character uses to communicate with his clients while remaining anonymous.
Relay premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year and also played at Tribeca a few months back, and it’s the type of suspense thriller that can appeal to fans of Hitchcock and movies like The Conversation and Blowout. It once again shows that Mackenzie is able to take on any film genre quite effectively, as Relay uses a slow build to create its suspense before a thrilling last act full of action.
Cinema Daily US spoke to Mackenzie a few months back when Relay played at Tribeca, and you can watch that interview in the video player above.
Relay will be released nationwide on Friday, August 22.
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Director: David Mackenzie
Screenwriter: Justin Piasecki
Cast: Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington, Willa Fitzgerald, Jared Abrahamson, Matthew Maher
Producer: Basil Iwanyk, Gillian Berrie, David Mackenzie, Teddy Schwarzman
Production Co: Black Bear, Thunder Road Pictures, Sigma Films
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Thriller, Action
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): August 22, 2025
Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: