Fair Play
NetflixThis piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
First thing first: Fair Play is not an erotic thriller. Whoever said this coming out of its Sundance premiere has not seen any erotic thrillers. The literal definition of an “erotic thriller” relies heavily on romance or sexual desire as a plot device and is heavily integrated in its thematic messaging and overarching character arcs. Fair Play is not that. Instead, writer/director Chloe Domont crafts a gripping psychological thriller that deftly challenges power dynamics with two superb performances anchoring the fort.
At first, the audience meets Emily Meyers (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke Edmunds (Alden Ehrenreich) as a couple madly in love. Luke just proposed to Emily, though he would have hoped for a better situation than where he was stuck. The two celebrate their accomplishments at night with lots of passionate sex, even if, at work, they can’t reveal to be a couple. Company policy does not allow it. The two work at the same hedge fund corporation and are both excellent at their jobs.
When one of the higher-ups gets fired, Emily hears a rumor that their boss, Campbell (Eddie Marsan), will promote Luke. However, predictably, Emily gets the job, which deeply upsets Luke. He doesn’t show it initially – he initially appears loving and supportive of Emily’s new endeavor. But when the two are no longer equals, and Emily spends her nights showing her money at fancy bars and restaurants while also being transported by a private car, it takes a deep toll on Luke, and their relationship falters.
Erotic thrillers are predominantly based on the dichotomy between the “femme fatale” and the “fall guy,” where the man falls in love with a dangerously beautiful woman who consistently manipulates the male character. But Emily is not a femme fatale, and Luke isn’t any fall guy. In the film, Luke becomes far more controlling over Emily’s behavior. He starts to question if she got the position by sleeping with Campbell instead of working hard to the top to impress his boss like he allegedly did. There’s the odd remark here or there in his initial newfound disdain for Emily, but it becomes far more out-of-control when he directly sees the effect of her new position at their household while he attempts to salvage his job before he gets canned.
It's an interesting rivalry, but there are no specific core elements of the erotic thriller besides a few explicit sex scenes, with one that is particularly difficult to watch near the end. Instead, Domont shows Emily and Luke’s mounting anger as the two begin to realize their darkest flaws that weren’t revealed when the two would only think of making love. This specific part of their arc is performed with incredible gusto by Ehrenreich and Dynevor, and the film wouldn’t have worked otherwise.
It's great to see a resurgence in interest for Alden Ehrenreich as an actor because he’s really that good. He is absolutely not to blame for Solo: A Star Wars Story’s colossal failure and did the best with the circumstances he was unfortunately stuck in. His performances in this year’s Cocaine Bear, Oppenheimer, and Fair Play remind everyone how truly gifted he is. Hopefully, audiences haven’t tired of him, as he is expected to have a significant role in Marvel’s Ironheart and will hopefully have a bigger franchise potential than Star Wars.
In Fair Play, Luke’s psychological progression is classic, but he plays it with such incredible verve that it’s hard not to feel invested in both characters’ anguish, even if they both do morally reprehensible, and criminal, actions. At first, Ehrenreich exudes charm and confidence as Luke, only for that role to be reversed as Emily climbs to the top. The cracks slowly appear on his facial expressions, which become more reserved and timid until he looks at Emily with utter disgust. It takes a while to see it, but once it does, no one can look at Luke with the same perception as he was introduced in the film’s beginning.
But Dynevor steals the entire movie in one of the best breakout film performances of the year. Her progression starts in the same vein as Luke’s, but as he falls apart, she rises up, which brilliantly sets up their on-screen rivalry. As Luke grows more timid and less enthused with the idea of spending more time with Emily, she starts to be more assertive and confident about herself, leading to an unexpected finale that’s both terribly dark in its presentation but also ends the movie on the highest of notes, where Domont gives Emily enough agency to stand up for herself and tell Luke how she really feels. One will wonder how twisted the lengths in getting to that specific moment can go, but Domont doesn’t wrap up her movie until Emily controls the entire narrative. It's a tour-de-force performance from Dynevor that sets her up as one of the biggest up-and-coming stars to watch.
The way both actors play with their physical expressions is astounding in the development of their arcs, but far more investing is the visual language Domont creates with cinematographer Menno Mans, whose close-up shots of the two protagonists in the frame, looking opposite each other, ensures unparalleled tension between the two. They know their relationship is bound to fail, and it’s part of the demented fun of watching it happen in real-time. Mans shoots the movie like a fast-talking David Mamet picture, where the audience can’t entirely discern what’s happening but is consistently invested in the proceedings because the characters walk and talk and consistently say important – and engaging – things to each other. With sharp cuts from editor Franklin Petersen, it doesn’t take long for audiences to enrapture themselves in Fair Play’s story, slowly getting entangled in its dramatic power until the final pin drop blows them all away.
Fair Play is not a perfect movie. Its story is far too conventional and has been treated to death in many movies of that same ilk. However, Ehrenreich and Dynevor’s performances elevate the material to staggering heights, with Marsan also helping sell the despicable Campbell in a superb supporting performance. With the two main leads locked in from the minute it begins, Fair Play never lets up and isn’t afraid to challenge audiences, both in its thematic presentation of power dynamics and its raw images. It may be an erotic thriller for the person who’s never seen one, but it’s far more psychologically active in its presentation and progression of its two lead characters that it becomes even greater than its reductive appellation from the Sundance crowd.