Fair Play - Movie Review

The Movie: Fair Play

The Director: Chloe Domont

The Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan

The Story: When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, once supportive exchanges between lovers Emily and Luke begin to sour into something more sinister.

The Review:

Watching this movie was a test of my theory that the vast majority of movies that Netflix puts out just aren't that good and unfortunately, it did nothing to change that opinion. This debut feature film effort by Chloe Domont just didn't make any sense to me at all and the ending was a total WTF moment and not in a good way. I'm really not sure what this movie was trying to say. There's a lot about toxic corporate culture and how it can affect all types of relationships but none of the characters were likeable enough to care about what they were going through.

I will say that the performances turned in by Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich are pretty fantastic, they were just wasted on material that didn't live up to their contributions. Both of them go all in with several scenes that require a full emotional investment, and those moments are really what makes this movie worth watching. I think Dyvenor is especially good as she has to navigate her character being under constant attack by corporate misogyny and rich, white, toxic dudes at every turn. The major issue I had is how the characters at times go too far over the top and the ending is such a weird nuclear meltdown that made no sense and ended up being more laughable than anything else.

And that's really the core of Domont's story as it explores the darkest recesses of what women are often forced to deal with just to survive in the workplace. Pitting a newly engaged couple against each other in this environment is sort of a new twist on the topic and that's where most of the drama comes from, especially when the two are doubting and accusing each other at every turn. Eddie Marsan makes a valiant attempt at playing the extremely arrogant and overly entitled company boss but I never really bought it from him and his character was just sort of there.

The Verdict:

Fair Play is a test of strength for its characters, its primary cast members, and even for the audience itself. Director Chloe Domont makes a valiant effort at exposing toxic corporate cultures although it doesn't really live up to similar types of films that have come before it.