Like a ghost gliding invisibly through the bustling streets of Manhattan, reclusive fixer Ash (Riz Ahmed) lives a lean, solitary existence, covertly protecting corporate whistleblowers from threats to life and livelihood using a phone-to-text relay service — all while struggling to quell the internal demons that once nearly destroyed him. When research scientist Sarah Grant (Lily James), armed with a dossier exposing a highly carcinogenic biotech product about to hit the global market, reaches out to Ash for protection, fixer and client soon find themselves caught in an increasingly deadly game of misdirection and sleight-of-hand against a slick, ruthless team of corporate mercenaries led by Sam Worthington and Willa Fitzgerald. As a simmering connection develops in the silent spaces between Ash and Sarah, time quickly runs out, leading to a breathless pursuit across the city in this riveting, pulse pounding thriller.

Director David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) has crafted a taut, powerful cat-and-mouse thrill ride that takes aim at the growing threat of unchecked corporate power — and the necessity of holding on to one’s humanity in the face of it. With a tight, tense and twisty script by Justin Piasecki, Relay earns a rightful place among the finest espionage thrillers of its era, as well as the classic 1970s conspiracy films that helped inspire it.—Cedar Sherbert

David Mackenzie