Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
Fair Play dives deep into power dynamics and takes courageous chances in getting to its final destination. Writer and director Chloe Domont does not shy away from male vs. female dynamics in the office, or in the bedroom.
“An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple’s relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel far more than their recent engagement.”
Director: Chloe Domont
Writer: Chloe Domont
Staring: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer
Release Date: October 6, 2023
IMDB
Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are a young, frisky recently-engaged couple deep in the throes of successful and personal bliss. The quirk in their relationship is that they both work for the same high-stress financial firm. By nature of the work environment and the self-preservation necessary to survive as employees, Emily and Luke must hide their relationship.
The pair exchange glances at the office whenever they can, but only until the stresses of work and expectations begin souring all forms of their love. Emily and Luke begin to understand the deeper goals and ambition of themselves, and their partner. When the masks are shed and the gloves come out, nobody is safe from what’s to come.
Fair Play dives deep into power dynamics and takes courageous chances in getting to its final destination. Writer and director Chloe Domont does not shy away from male vs. female dynamics in the office, or in the bedroom. Sex plays a major part in Fair Play, and the sensuous tones emitted by the movie’s couple are matched by the boxing-style knockout atmosphere of the financial firm. It is all or nothing, and fair play is not permitted.
The premise of Fair Play is fascinating in itself. Right from the get-go the story and characters slap you across the face with the movie’s tone. The blunt force trauma approach brought by Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich accent the themes of power and ambition. Fair Play steps into the ring and peppers the audience with over-the-top arguments and thought-provoking decision making.
Power is the motivation for every single character in Fair Play. Power dynamics is the overarching motif of Fair Play. Everything about this movie is power related. Chloe Domont deserves a ton of credit for penning a story that doesn’t pull any punches. At the end of Fair Play, everyone is battered and bruised. And frankly, everyone deserves it. Emily and Luke may start out as likable love birds but by the end, neither has a thread of humanity left.
Fair Play bookends itself with blood, and the way it’s shown are striking and symbolic. At the jump when Luke and Emily are getting heavy we see Luke covered in blood from Emily’s period. He is not ashamed by the blood, instead he embraces the moment with Emily in a weirdly adorable way. However, at the end of the movie, Luke is covered in blood of his own, at the behest of Emily’s demand. Not only is Emily not the one bleeding any more, but she is the one commanding someone else to.
Luke doesn’t command Emily’s period. That is something that is inherent, something that neither of them can control. It is something expected and unchanged. Luke didn’t have the power to make Emily bleed much like his power over her was not something he inherently controlled himself. It was just a fact of life…which is a statement Domont is putting on the table for everyone to see.
Come the final frames, Emily has flipped the script not only in terms of their old relationship dynamics, but she has also pulled the rug out from society’s norms. Come the end of Fair Play Emily has the power Snap would be envious of, but the pedestal she’s built for herself is already showing cracks.
The ending of Emily and Luke’s engagement is satisfyingly dark, but the best final statement comes when our “victor” in the play for power is shown at her weakest. When the new beautiful female employee is escorted to her desk, it’s to not have a perverse sense of pleasure. Emily beat the system and emotionally disemboweled her romantic partner, but now she is going to go up against a younger version of herself. She is going up against an enemy she knows all too well.
JUST DELIGHTFUL! *Shutters with pleasure*
The cutthroat world of Fair Play is fettered out on screen by a pair of great performances, and one really good one.
While Alden Ehrenreich is not the best part of the movie, the actor is doing a damn fine job of erasing the sticky tag he had on himself after the public relations disaster of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Ehrenreich was the best comedic part of Cocaine Bear (2023), and that was followed up by an appearance in the polar opposite side of the movie spectrum with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023).
In Fair Play, Ehnreneich’s signature acting moment is a very tough scene to watch. You can’t hold what the character does against the performer, but as a viewer, you are having the classic oh no he isn’t monologue going inside your brain. The character Luke is going through an existential crisis and Ehreneich does a damn good job, albeit not very subtly, descending into animalistic jealousy.
The spotlight part of Emily is played by Phoebe Dynevor, and let’s all clap it up for Phoebe. There is a lot going on with Emily the character. Vulnerability is necessary, as is a supreme amount of self-esteem. Dynevor has no problem being the aggressor in multiple regards, and when the character Emily is given the key to escape the cage of expectations, both the actor and the character run with the opportunity. Dynevor not only acts like she belongs. She looks it too. There is a part in Fair Play where Luke is being snide about what Emily wears to the office, but what Luke doesn’t realize is that it’s about the attitude she is wearing. She doesn’t need to have the fancy clothes to look the part. She needs to carry her head high and let her work do the talking.
Just really great work from Phoebe Dyevor. She reminds me (in the best way) of a scarier version of Kaitlyn Dever.
The X factor of the movie Eddie Marsan. The classic I know that guy guy plays the part of Campbell, who is the head of the financial firm where Emily and Luke are duking it out. In a world of chaos where tornadoes of backstabbing and selfish ambition are the norm, Campbell is the weatherman. Campbell is able to pick his spots and use his puppeteering powers to get his coworkers in the right positions.
Campbell’s greatest ability as a business leader is spotting talent, and knowing how to deal with talent that is lacking. We see people get laid off and the violent reactions that ensue, but we also see him let certain employees hang. Like Luke. It’s this calm confidence that’s most intimidating about the Campbel character. He is the only one who knows how this all ends. Marsen is the devil in sheep’s clothing, but his horns are creeping out just enough for everyone to see.
The premise of Fair Play, paired with the trios strong acting and a delightfully depressing ending, makes for better than-it-outa-be Netflix original. Emily states in the movie that …”expectations are way out of whack,” and this time around its a positive thing. Raise your expectations because Fair Play delivers under the pressure.
STANKO RATING: B
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