Relay

Relay

Year: 2025

Runtime: 1 h 52 m

Language: english

Director: David Mackenzie

Echo Score: 64
ActionThriller

Riz Ahmed plays a world‑class fixer who brokers payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals threatening their ruin. He shields his identity with meticulous planning and follows a strict code. When a desperate client, Lily James, seeks his protection to stay alive, his rules bend, pulling him into danger and the fallout of his covert deals.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Relay (2025)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Relay (2025). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Early 2000s, post-9/11 era

Set in the post-9/11 era, the film mirrors the era’s heightened scrutiny and corporate unease. The timeline threads through a high-stakes merger, witness intimidation, and the fragile process of exposing wrongdoing. Personal histories, including Ash’s drinking, color the urgency of every decision.

Location

New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma

The action centers on New York City, with a key warehouse scene in Newark and pivotal movement via trains to outlying locations. Pittsburgh and Oklahoma appear as destinations in the document handoffs and misdirections that drive the chase. The story unfolds within a dense cross‑border, tri‑state urban fabric where corporate crime and whistleblowing collide.

🗽 Urban setting 🕵️ Espionage atmosphere 🔒 Corporate power

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 08:38

Main Characters – Relay (2025)

Meet the key characters of Relay (2025), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Ash (Riz Ahmed)

A secretive fixer who brokers dangerous deals between whistleblowers and corporate giants. He operates in the shadows, maintaining anonymity through a relay service and disguises. A recovering alcoholic, he wrestles with guilt while balancing loyalty to clients against a personal code.

🧩 Fixer 🕵️‍♂️ Anonymity 🥃 Addiction

Sarah Grant (Lily James)

A determined whistleblower who planned to expose a cover‑up but faces relentless surveillance and corporate pressure. She evolves into a strategic leader who choreographs handoffs under pressure. Her resilience presses the plot toward a showdown with Optimo.

🧭 Whistleblower 🎯 Strategist 🔒 Surveillance

Dawson (Sam Worthington)

A veteran counterintelligence lead who drives the pursuit to recover the documents. He relentlessly pursues the truth, constrained by legal boundaries and the higher aims of the operation. His team embodies official pressure and procedural stakes.

🧭 Pursuer 🧠 Strategist 🗡️ Threat

Morel (Seth Barrish)

A key corporate figure whose actions threaten to derail the whistleblowing process. His ambition underlines how personal power can destabilize justice and endanger innocents. Morel intensifies the race to control Hoffman’s documents.

💼 Executive 🧩 Manipulator

Hoffman (Matthew Maher)

A conflicted former employee tangled in the cover‑up. His fear of exposure accelerates the dangerous decisions that push the plot toward crisis. He embodies the cost of silence within a high‑stakes corporate environment.

🧑‍💼 Insider 🧭 Moral conflict

McVie (Victor Garber)

CEO at the center of Optimo’s machinations, orchestrating moves to bury incriminating documents. His power and intimidation drive the merger timeline and escalate the moral stakes. A portrait of corporate dominance and risk.

🏢 CEO 🕶️ Control

Wash (Eisa Davis)

A recovering alcoholic and Ash’s AA sponsor who anchors him in a supportive community. He provides moral ballast and a path to redemption, even as danger closes in. Wash’s steadiness offers a counterpoint to the chaos of the pursuit.

❤️ Mentor 🕊️ Redemption

Rosetti (Willa Fitzgerald)

A member of the surveillance team whose tracking skills are crucial to the operation. Her loyalty and method influence the chase and its outcomes. Rosetti’s escape hints at continuing threat beyond the film’s immediate events.

🕵️‍♀️ Tracker 🗺️ Ally

Ryan (Jared Abrahamson)

A counterintelligence operative whose role adds pressure on the operation. He embodies the tension between investigative pragmatism and ethical concerns in the pursuit of a secret.

🧭 Operative 🗃️ Archivist

Lee (Pun Bandhu)

A counterintelligence team member contributing to the tactical pursuit. His involvement heightens the risks around data retrieval and handoffs.

🗡️ Operator 🎭 Dual role

Tariq (Jamil Haque)

An ally in the operation who participates in the network that navigates the documents. He embodies the collaboration necessary to maneuver through corporate intrigue.

🤝 Ally 🧰 Connector

Tony (Jason Nuzzo)

A network member involved in handoffs and risk management. His presence underscores the logistical complexity of moving sensitive information.

⚙️ Logistics 🛰️ Link

Andy (Grant Harrison)

An associate coordinating aspects of the plan and supporting the pursuit. His involvement adds another layer of coordination and risk.

🧭 Planner 🧰 Support

Homeless Woman (Jamie Ann Burke)

A minor but memorable urban figure who colors the city’s texture and serves as a subtle counterpoint to the chase.

🗽 Minor role 🧭 Urban life

Service Agent (Victoria Stevens)

A law enforcement or agency contact who adds official pressure to the pursuit and frames procedural constraints.

🛰️ Official contact 🧭 Bureaucracy

USPS Clerk (Brian O'Neill)

A pivotal support figure who facilitates the flow of documents through everyday channels, marking the motion of information.

📬 Messenger 🗃️ Records

Jim (Lou Liberatore)

A minor urban character who adds texture to the pursuit and the network surrounding the operation.

🏙️ City life 🧩 Supporting

Chair (AA) (David Ryan Smith)

An authority figure in the investigation, whose role heightens the procedural tension and the stakes of pursuit.

🧭 Authority 🧰 Oversight

Newsstand Attendant (Madison Rae Lutz)

A minor but evocative figure grounding the urban setting and daily rhythm around the chase.

🗞️ City life 🧭 Everyday

Bar Waitress (Jessica Marza)

A supporting figure that situates events in bars and night scenes, contributing to the mood and pacing.

🍸 Nightlife 🧭 Atmosphere

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 08:38

Major Themes – Relay (2025)

Explore the central themes of Relay (2025), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💼 Corporate Power

Optimo’s drive to bury incriminating documents shows how profit can override ethics. Whistleblowers are trapped between financial ruin and public exposure, and intermediaries like Ash maneuver through dangerous leverage. The film interrogates who ultimately bears responsibility when corporations bend the law for control.

🕵️ Surveillance & Anonymity

Ash preserves anonymity through relay services and disguises, while Dawson’s team hunts for traces in a system designed to hide them. The pursuit turns on legal barriers that restrict data use, highlighting the fragility of privacy. The cat-and-mouse dynamic probes the limits of surveillance in modern conflict.

🕊️ Redemption & Guilt

Ash’s recovery from alcoholism and his secretive work against wrongdoing frames a personal arc of guilt and potential redemption. The narrative links post‑9/11 trauma to moral choices, showing how fear and loyalty shape behavior. The ending hints at doing the right thing at a personal cost.

🎭 Identity & Disguise

Disguises and forged identities propel the plot, as characters work undercover to move documents and avoid detection. The simultaneous layering of trust and deception keeps the audience guessing who is guiding the handoffs. The symphony handoff and misdirection illustrate how perception can be manipulated as a tool of strategy.

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 08:38

Unlock the Full Story of Relay

Don't stop at just watching — explore Relay in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Relay is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Relay Summary

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Relay Summary

Relay Timeline

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Relay Timeline

Relay Spoiler-Free Summary

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Relay Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Relay

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