Career or love. Increasingly, this is a question that faces many young professional women as they navigate modern American culture and find themselves feeling as if they have to choose one or the other. Trying to balance “having it all”, achieving one’s goals and remaining romantically viable, can feel like an arduous task. Writer/director Chloe Domont uses her feature film debut to explore how society pressures both men and women in this balancing act.
Fair Play follows secret lovers and coworkers at hedge fund the One Crest Capital Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) and Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) as they embark upon their engagement and developing careers in the world of New York City finance. When a coveted promotion opens up and Emily gets the gig, their relationship begins to shift as Luke isn’t as ready to handle Emily’s new success and seniority over him as he thinks.
The slow burning jealousy from Luke towards Emily that is at the heart of Fair Play is perhaps the greatest depiction of the emotion within the context of a romantic relationship ever put to screen, representing the roar of its cinematic engine and source of the tension that is perfectly developed slowly throughout the film’s runtime. As Fair Play unfolds, we watch as Luke overcompensates in an effort to do too much to prove himself, only digging the hole deeper once a multimillion dollar bet on a company he talks Emily into falls through. Desperately trying to prove himself, but failing, Luke gradually moves from passive aggressive to full-on sabotage as Emily sees more success while he stalls. Once he reaches the latter stage, the film turns into a full-on modern War of the Roses, rife with tension and conflict that will have audiences on the edges of the seats, yanking their collars.It would have been easy for writer/director Chloe Domont to write a caricature of a jealous man who instantly displays insecurities at his girlfriend achieving his career goal before him, but Luke’s seemingly cool acceptance gradually morphing into seething resentment and ultimately burning rage is a realistic choice that is sure to spark the conversations and introspection that Domont sought out.
We also see how the dynamic of how professional success for women affects not just Emily’s psyche, but those around her. We get the expected, if not stereotypical whispers, of sexual innuendo regarding how she came to be suddenly promoted by a male superior and how this affects the way Emily comports herself in her new role. She also spends the onset of her new role attempting to assuage Luke’s feelings but soon comes to resent him for it as his jealousy, and resulting lack of intimacy, causes him to spiral. The shifting power dynamic of their relationship moves back and forth throughout the film with two major shifts occurring in the third act as Luke and Emily jockey to come out on top. First, Luke attempts to take the power back, a bit of social commentary on a hot button issue. Emily responds in the film’s ending serving not just as a direct response to Luke’s actions, but as an allegory for her journey representing the struggles of the modern woman. It’s not too heavy handed in its messaging, but does feel slightly anticlimactic for what was such a thrilling two hours to watch.
Fair Play’s social commentary goes past relationship dynamics, also into American work culture. Not just the hyper cutthroat world of venture capital, but the dogged way Americans throw themselves into their work and climbing the ladder of success through competition at the expense of everything and everyone else; how people link their self-worth and ego with their professional ambitions, leaving little room for humanity. This is often spurred by hostile work environments fostered by abusive, sociopathic bosses of which Campbell serves as an archetype. Whether it’s the unrealistic expectations and heavy handed consequences he doles out to those unable to meet them, or the sexually hostile and abusive language he doles out in anger toward Emily in light of a $25 million loss, Fair Play makes the point that much of the professional pressure that deteriorates Luke and Emily’s personal lives emenates from how Campbell runs his office.
Alden Ehrenreich’s portrayal of an ambitious man succumbing to ego until he destroys himself entirely is perfectly acted, peaking during one of the most awkward and tense scenes of self-debasement seen on film in quite sometime when he finally begs Campbell for a promotion (literally). His arc as Luke serves as a warning about putting one’s worth on not just professional success, but success in comparison with those around you. His jealousy comes to consume and turn him into a wholly different person. Dynevor does well in using her performance to communicate the film’s point about how smart and ambitious young women can often be punished for their capabilities by the outside world, particularly their male peers. Having to straddle the line between achievement and being cognizant of how she’ll come across as a successful professional woman takes a toll not just on the men around her, but on Emily herself as she tries to serve the aforementioned two masters.
Fair Play is a topical psychological examination of gender and relationship power dynamics and American work culture, putting both under the microscope for what and whom they turn people into. Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor offer some of the best performances of the year, encapsulating the humanistic nuance of two people in love who succumb to the larger culture around them. Fair Play both entertains and makes a statement about the world around us without being too obvious or too salacious. It is an achievement for writer/director Chloe Domont in her debut feature, announcing her arrival on the scene with a rejuvenation of the erotic thriller.
Image: Netflix
