Relay

David receives a fair fight against Goliath courtesy of a modern day Robin Hood in the appropriately mixed-metaphor-friendly Relay.

Directed by David Mackenzie yet lacking the intensity of his Hell or High Water or Starred Up, the story of tech-savvy Ash (Riz Ahmed) helping whistleblowers stick it to their corrupt employers in ways they'll all remember nevertheless sustains attention through active storytelling that respects viewer intelligence.

Never is this winning formula more on display than in the intriguing opening half hour plus, during which Ash doesn’t speak a word as he sends client Hoffman (Matthew Maher, While We're Young) to safety and onboards new help-seeker Sarah (Lily James), building a tantalizing mystery surrounding his silence.

However, Relay's coolest parts might be seeing Ash and the titular service for the hearing impaired at work. Using an outdated typing machine, he runs his messages through the operator, who in turn speaks to the client, forming an unusual chain of communication that's immune to hacking. Mackenzie directs these “dialogue” sequences with a smooth hand, keeping the tension high while ladling on pertinent information in an organic manner.

Despite hints of great 1970s paranoia thrillers, most notably via the surveillance team headed by Dawson (the somehow still employed Sam Worthington, giving yet another bland performance) that’s keeping close tabs on Sarah, Relay’s DNA primarily overlaps with Michael Clayton — albeit as a shell of the Tony Gilroy great.

Thrilling as it is to watch Ash in action, his weaknesses are predictable and take the film in uninspired directions. A few semi-guessable surprises keep things spicy, yet the whole thing is so stylistically muted and bereft of colorful characters that one almost wishes another filmmaker and cast could have a crack at it.

Grade: B-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Bleecker Street)