David Mackenzie is full of deceit. His movies, not him. Mackenzie can lure you with the cunningness of an illicit couple, played by Tilda Swnton and Ewan McGregor, in his 2003 drama Young Adam. “Give us a come-hither look,” I remember him instructing Swinton on a barge berthed on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland.
Treachery of a different kind is afoot in his latest film Relay, which had its world premiere Sunday at TIFF. The chicanery is there.
There’s no sex, but there’s seduction. The audience is being seduced too; we’re being lulled. You’ve been warned. The two protagonists are played by Riz Ahmed and Lily James, at the top of their game.
And what delectable games they play. Beige is the color of conformity. James is first seen wearing a suit in that tone because she doesn’t want to stand out.
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