Review - Fair Play
Directed by: Chloe Domont
Written by: Chloe Domont
Starring: Phoebe Dyvenor, Alden Ehrenreich
Running Time: 113 minutes
Rating: 4/5
How did I get so lucky?
The male ego is a fragile state of mind. Set in the world of high-stakes corporate industry; Chloe Domont’s Fair Play is a seductive thriller that encapsulates, devastates and revels in its portrayal of a unbreakable bond pushed to its limits by desire, ego and obsession. As toxic as this relationship may slowly dissipate into, Chloe Domont is confident and explicit - in Fair Play - all is fair in love and war.
Ex-Bridgerton star, Phoebe Dyvenor and Young Han Solo, Alden Ehrenreich star as Emily and Luke, both financial analysts at a top New York hedge fund. They’re young, in love and fiercely rooted in their profession. The two are passionate and enthralled with one another but hold their relationship secret; a bond separate from their cutthroat every day lives. They are colleagues during the day and are engaged lovers at night. It is when Emily wins a promotion at their workplace that their relationship begins to unravel, a descent into a dark, thrilling escapade of hidden truths behind their hearts, their minds and their futures.
Fair Play is writer-director Chloe Domont’s feature film debut; lauded and buzzed about in its Sundance 2023 premiere, Fair Play is a testament to Domont’s glowing success. The film is confident, exhilarating surprising; a promising exhibit of Domont’s talent and prowess behind the camera. The film expertly dips its feet into a multitude of genres; sultry erotic romance, high-tension drama and dark, twisted thrillers. Many pundits have crossed Fair Play with films such as Fatal Attraction, Gone Girl or even television counterparts in Industry or Succession. The film is lustful, unbelievably tense and at times frightening and powerful. Dvyenor and Ehrenreich are the monuments of the film; it is built on the crux of their relationship - one built by love and passion, but also driven by purpose and stature. The exploration of gender dynamics and role and ego are explicit, honest and at times, gleefully confrontational.
In otherwise a film deeply rooted in its realism and portrayal of gender politics and dynamics in the corporate workplace; Fair Play only suffers in small stretches of hyperbolic/overdramatic decisions made some of its characters. Some may question these narrative choices/performances as unrealistic, maybe a little bit off-putting; maybe specifically in the context of what the film is continually building toward, it felt like jarring and/or unearned character traits were subsequently revealed for the sake of shock and/or uncomfortable moments. Some may find that these moments in the film (especially in the midst of its second act and the last few sequences of its third) may work in the context of the film - but it seemed like some of the character beats were ignored and/or shafted to the side for the sake of entertainment and the movie. For a film that excels - especially in its first act - at slowly seducing the audience in its mystery and gripping nature of performances and character motivations - some of these bigger moments felt a little bit out of place and subsequently overdramatic in its place of the film.
Fair Play is not an erotic thriller as some may have hoped. It definitely isn’t Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction as many other viewers may harken back to. Though, Chloe Domont’s Fair Play is a seductive, exhilarating thrill ride that engrosses and satisfies through its confidence and tremendous performances. The film loves to tease, juggling between playful and sensual to devastating and gripping in its revelatory absolute truths. A deconstruction of gender dynamics, socio-economic patriarchal politics and the unravelling of masculine fragility; Fair Play is a seductive thriller that is built on the absolute chemistry and performance of both Phoebe Dyvenor and Alden Ehrenreich.
Fair Play is the unravelling of love; the ferocity of love, the competition of love and the fragility of our hearts and minds. A twisted surprise.
