Susan Granger’s review of “Fair Play” (Netflix)
In “Fair Play,” first-time feature filmmaker Chloe Domont introduces a workplace/erotic melodrama that exemplifies a contemporary dilemma facing many ambitious, highly competitive couples.
The first scene introduces Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich), who are into carnal lust, if not love. And when an engagement ring drops out of Luke’s pocket, Emily realizes that he’s serious about marriage.
Excited, she texts her mother, even though both Emily and Luke realize their steamy relationship must be kept secret since they’re both analysts for One Crest Capital, a high-powered Wall Street hedge fund, and it violates company policy.
Emily is a top-tier Harvard-graduate whose gut-instincts, coupled with her capacity for extensive research, have impressed Campbell (Eddie Marsan), her gruffly demanding boss. In contrast, while Luke dutifully delves for deals, he’s developed a reputation for coming up with duds.
When a coveted PM (portfolio manager) promotion opens up, there are rumors that Luke is next-in-line, but Emily gets the post, along with an impressive office.
While Luke is deeply disappointed, he’s not a misogynist. He’s supportive of Emily yet determined to better his own future chances by becoming absorbed in a self-help book about entitlement strategy. Nevertheless, his simmering jealousy and resentment surface in caustic ‘digs,’ targeting Emily’s appearance/demeanor.
Given the power dynamics and their private vs. public perceptions, romance inevitably hits the rocks, along with their once-hyperactive sex life, turning their respective existences into an escalating nightmare – in and out of the office.
Screenwriter/director Chloe Domont (“Billions,” Clarice”), working with Dutch cinematographer Menno Mans, astutely concocts a compelling psychological thriller for the post-#MeToo era, imbuing the ensuing histrionics with a veil of validity, as both Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”) and Alden Ehrenreich (“Oppenheimer”) deliver electrifying, combative performances,
What’s fascinating about “Fair Play” is how its gender dynamics court controversy. Viewers will react in varying ways, often reflecting their own sexism-in-the-workplace experiences, I suspect.
FYI: Netflix acquired this film for $20 million and at a press conference Chloe Domont revealed that her hazing as a novice television writer on male-dominated “Balls” inspired Emily’s toxic cocktail interludes and visit to a strip club.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Fair Play” is an insightful, adult-entangling 8, streaming on Netflix.
