Fair Play

Fair Play follows a young couple. Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are financial analysts at the same cutthroat Manhattan hedge fund. They are in love and Luke proposes to Emily. However, they keep their relationship a secret at work for fear it may adversely affect their employment. Soon after, Emily is elevated to one of the portfolio managers, making her Luke’s boss. Luke seems happy for her, but as things develop, we see his jealousy becoming too much for him. Various rather mundane situations ensue, highlighting how Emily’s ascendancy vexes Luke. She attempts to assist his career path as well. Unfortunately, every time she reaches out to support, he pushes her away.

So this comes across as a very dated 90s corporate office drama about sexual politics. Look at the movie poster. The marketing sold it as an erotic thriller. It’s neither. The narrative deals with power dynamics and gender. The perspective differs but is reminiscent of the 1994 movie Disclosure, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. This is 2023, and the idea of a woman climbing the corporate ladder isn’t some radical concept. Luke and Emily are engaged, and he certainly could have benefitted from his fiancee’s newfound success. Yet Emily’s promotion is a significant problem for him. Luke is fabricated to illustrate a male with a highly fragile ego. 

This is the first feature film from writer and director Chloe Domont (HBO TV series Ballers). I suspect she may be drawing on personal experience. The “pressing issue” depicted here is motivated by feeling and emotion over logical ideas. Everything culminates in this histrionic argument in the kitchen with a knife. The handling of the climax favors melodramatic theatrics to the detriment of believable human behavior.

10-13-23