Ahmed stars as an intermediary between corrupt corporations and would-be whistleblowers whose careful security measures go awry. David Daniel has a look.

Riz Ahmed takes on the lead role in 'Relay', an action thriller where he plays a discreet intermediary for corrupt corporations, helping arrange confidential payoffs to former employees who could pose a threat. The character uses a hearing-assisted relay service to maintain secrecy, and the film also stars Lily James as a client seeking his help.

Directed by David Mackenzie, 'Relay' pays homage to classic 1970s paranoid thrillers such as 'The Conversation' and 'Three Days of the Condor'. The film delves into the emotional complexities faced by whistleblowers, highlighting both the risks and the sense of isolation that can come with doing the right thing.

Riz Ahmed is the man in the middle in the action thriller ‘Relay’

I help people who see things they shouldn't have, who maybe should have looked the other way, but they can't. Riz Ahmed stars in Relay as a mysterious man who brokers payoffs by corrupt corporations to former employees who could harm them, using a hearing-assisted relay service for secrecy. The person who's called you will type their conversation, and I'll read it to you. No calls are recorded, and everything you say is confidential. There's a van parked out front. I think they're watching me. Lily James plays Sarah, who needs his services. We are not bodyguards. We are intermediaries. We can help you return the documents whilst maintaining leverage to protect you. Has it ever gone wrong? Sometimes we have to walk away. It was actually a really fundamental part of finding who this person is, is this desire to not be noticed. The world unfolds around, but your central character is still very much a mystery. The film unfolds like a 1970s paranoid thriller. I think David Mackenzie said from the very beginning he wanted to pay homage to those classic movies, Conversation, Three Days at the Condor, and more recently movies like Michael Clayton. It's such a kind of cinematic genre film in the hands of someone like David Mackenzie who has such skill. Mackenzie found himself fascinated by whistleblowers. Everyone that we spoke to, even ones that got a big cash payout, there was a sense of sadness to all of them, and a sense that they'd done the right thing, but no one really cared. Why'd you do this for me? That is my job. In Hollywood, I'm David Daniel.

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