While Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor both deliver incredible performances, Fair Play is extremely triggering and uncomfortable to watch.
Exotic thrillers often walk a line, but sometimes they cross it. The goal is, of course, to make the audience feel a bit uncomfortable at times, however with Fair Play, it goes too far in the third acts, and completely throws away all the great work the actors put in before that.
Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Fair Play would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
The film kicks off with a funny, albeit a bit sexual, scene. It becomes clear that Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) and Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) are in love. The crazy kind of love that you will do anything to protect. The two work at the same finance firm and are too scared to share that they are together, for fear of losing their job or being judged at work.
So they keep things quiet, which adds some thrill to it all. However, when one of them gets a promotion, things change and their relationship is put to the test.
Fair Play has a great first scene, that is sure to have audiences leaning towards the edge of their seats. However, it doesn’t take long for the pace to slow down. By the time things pick back up again at the end of the second act, some viewers might already be checked out of the story.
Still, things are kept somewhat interesting as it delves heavily into what can happen when one person in the relationship feels insecure. They begin to take everything, and we mean everything, out on the other. They start to blame them for things they didn’t have any say in, and start to assume they are deceiving them.
The film shines a light on how it can feel to be a woman in a workplace that is not only overrun by men, but built by men. Women can end up feeling like they need to change in order to not only be appreciated by their co-workers, but in order to be listened to. They put up with a lot of crap, and that is exactly what Fair Play is trying to point out.
However, it can be extremely triggering for any woman who has either worked in a environment like this, or has been in an unsupportive and abusive relationship.
While we don’t want to get into certain scenes for fear of spoilers, know that this film is rated the way it is because of sexual violence. This part of the movie goes very far, and could make some people — especially those who have been assaulted in the past — sick to their stomachs. So be warned.
There is a good story in here, somewhere. There are important lessons and two lead actors who give their everything in these roles. The final scene of the movie is powerful, for the most part, however it once again brings in the mentally that two wrongs make a right, which is simply not the case. It is sickening, and while we can certainly understand Emily’s actions, they feel too ridiculous to fit the story. She was, simply, pushed too far, we suppose.
The ending is just as abrupt, as it is uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, many of the triggering scenes are so hard to watch, that they make you uncomfortable — along with the last scene. At the same time, the movie is too drawn out at the start, and ends up being far too long at nearly two hours. It is shame, because it has such potential, that ends up wasted.
Rating: 2 out of 5
NEXT: Love At First Sight Review
About Fair Play
When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, once supportive exchanges between lovers Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) begin to sour into something more sinister. As the power dynamics irrevocably shift in their relationship, the couple must face the true price of success and the unnerving limits of ambition.
In her feature debut, writer-director Chloe Domont weaves a taut relationship thriller, staring down the destructive gender dynamics that pit partners against each other in a world that is transforming faster than the rules can keep up. Also starring Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer, and Sebastian De Souza, Fair Play unravels the uncomfortable collision of empowerment and ego.
WATCH FAIR PLAY IN SELECT THEATERS ON SEPTEMBER 29
and on Netflix October 13
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.