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.

Related Stories

Toronto Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews

Toronto Film Festival 2024 Hot List: Can Promising Acquisition Pic Slate Overcome Post-Strike Movie Malaise & Mixed Box Office Results?

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.

Watch on Deadline

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. She’s a scientist working in biotechnology and was part of a team that developed a strain of insect-resistant wheat. However, food safety experts have deemed the wavin’ wheat unsafe because they’ve discovered side effects that can harm those who chomp it down. It’s being flogged to countries in Africa, and the feeling is they don’t matter.

But the people of Africa matter to James’ Sarah, who’s stepping up to blow the whistle about...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAJBVV95cUxPVWZ5NnhVS0NRNWsyc1hfU1hQ...