Directed by Chloe Domont, the film pieces corporate tension with intimate emotional conflict, crafting a slow-burn descent into toxicity that feels both uncomfortably real and dramatically compelling. It’s a movie that starts off with love, builds with ambition, and then breaks under the pressure of ego, insecurity and the shifting power dynamics between man and woman.
Synopsis
Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are a young couple who appear to be deeply in love. So in love that they’ve kept their relationship a secret at their high-pressure hedge fund firm where workplace romances are forbidden. When a senior position opens up, both assume Luke will be promoted. But surprisingly, it’s Emily who is offered the role. This of course sends shockwaves through their previously harmonious relationship.
Review and Rating
I decided I wasn't going to hold back words with this review but I figured if I don’t, I’d be spoiling the fun.
It’s not news that a woman climbing up the corporate ladder and her partner(male) looking up to her or answering to her especially in the same workspace has been a thing of debate and if we’re being honest, majority of men hate to be in that situation no matter how much the woman proves to never rub it in his face.
This movie made me understand clearly why corporate organizations rule against romantic relationships amongst their workers. I used to think they were selfish and inconsiderate for putting up such a rule but now? I would sign a petition in support of more companies incorporating this rule if I were handed one.
Luke’s audacity to think that Emily’s promotion wasn’t out of merit threw me to the edge. Does it mean there are no hardworking women out there with actual brains? Women who actually deserve being promoted without anyone having the thought that she rocked a bed to earn it? I know the world is sick and a lot is happening under our noses but come on, we should learn to say congratulations to whom it is due without giving side talks.
Anyway, at its core, Fair Play is a relationship drama masked as a corporate thriller. The director crafts the story with a keen sense of pacing, letting the discomfort simmer until it boils over in moments of raw confrontation. What actually makes the film work is how it explores ambition; not just in the workplace, but in love.
Phoebe Dynevor is riveting as Emily. She delivered a nuanced performance that moves from hopeful and in love to hurt, disillusioned and quietly powerful. Her transformation is subtle but stunning. She’s the type I would actually call QUEEN. Objectively, Alden is strong. He embodies Luke with a dangerous mix of charm and suppressed insecurity. His descent into passive aggression and eventually, toxic masculinity felt disturbingly authentic.
The power dynamics explored in this film are deeply uncomfortable yet timely. There’s a lot to unpack about gender roles, workplace double standards and the fragility of the male ego when it’s not in the dominant seat.
Some peeps might find this movie claustrophobic or emotionally draining as there’s little reprieve from the tension and by the third act, it becomes downright suffocating. But I think that’s the point. It’s meant to make you squirm, to challenge your perspectives on modern relationships and the unspoken rules we all still follow.
It’s a movie I wholeheartedly recommend as it’s essential, especially for the fact that we live in a society that’s still navigating equity in both relationships and the workplace.
Rating: 4.5/5