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Netflix's Scorching 'Fair Play' Is One of the Best Debut Features in Years

By Sara Clements | Film | October 6, 2023 |

By Sara Clements | Film | October 6, 2023 |


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Writer-director Chloe Domont crafts a sharp and tense psychological thriller that examines gender office politics with brutal honesty. Looking at the ways in which our modern world is still very much archaic, a woman’s journey up the corporate ladder proves perilous.

Dating a co-worker turns nightmarish in Fair Play. While Luke (Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Alden Ehrenreich) and Emily (Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor) are the “It” couple at any party, they would never let their Wall Street office know it. She leaves her engagement ring on the kitchen counter, and they both go to work in separate ways. They make small talk in an elevator of people and sit across from each other at their computers with barely any interaction. The dynamic between them at work and at home is so interesting to watch play out. You feel burning desire simmer all day long. And at day’s end, they can’t take their hands off each other. They’re so in love. Both ambitious and intelligent, they would be the power couple given that chance. It’s something they talk about. When it’s rumored that Luke is getting a big promotion, it’s an exciting idea that swirls in their minds. If they both reach the top, they’ll truly have it all.

It was all bliss when Luke moving up in the company was the idea. But when Emily gets promoted instead of him, it’s no longer a cause for celebration. She is now Luke’s boss, and he says he’s proud but drinks away his frustration. He distances himself. The passion in their relationship completely fizzles out. His words are no longer loving, but harsh and judgemental. How their relationship changes is fascinating to watch because you know nothing would have changed between them if the roles had been reversed. In the cutthroat corporate world of finance, she runs circles around everyone, making more big calls than her colleagues, but the men around her expect more for less. They, including Luke, look at Emily with contempt and assume that the only way she got to the top was by sleeping her way up. The script twists the couple’s relationship into a sick power play. He plays with her head and she takes his advice instead of going with her gut - she still carries that notion that men know best. She’s not allowed to be a confident, successful woman in business, and god forbid she makes a few mistakes along the way.

There’s a reason why Fair Play dominated the Sundance 2023 IndieWire critics survey. It may not be as taut as it hopes to be, the film overstaying its welcome a bit, but its screenplay is something to admire. Domont knows how to build tension, and it grows increasingly volatile between the couple, building slowly until it rises to volcanic heat. And explodes in the most satisfying way. It’s a brutal and intoxicating takedown of gender workplace politics, male fragility, and ego. Not only are we fully emerged in Emily’s plight and the changing dynamic that forms between the film’s leads, but the film never loses us in the Wall Street mumbo jumbo. Despite not understanding the finance lingo, you can feel both the losses and the wins.

Another highlight is the scorching performances. The pair command the screen. You can feel what’s coming from the fear Dynevor conveys in her eyes when she’s about to tell Ehrenreich’s Luke about the big news. Luke feels he was the more deserving, you can see his happiness for her is insincere, and she must apologize for her success. Dynevor’s performance is so affecting and you root for her, while Ehrenreich you grow to hate, and you should. Putting down his Solo pistol, he’s terrifying. You can see his anger and resentment bubbling from underneath, boiling over as the film goes on. He’s the dreamy, perfect fiancee one minute and completely egotistical and maniacal the next.

Breaking the glass ceiling is something women are inspired to strive for, but Fair Play lays bare the truth and consequences of that. It’s easy to say, but when that ceiling does shatter, even the smallest cut from the falling glass can send men into a frenzy. There have always been rules to the corporate game, but women are no longer afraid to break them - and draw blood.