An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel not only their recent engagement but their lives.
So……how would you peeps feel about a little “Fair Play”? Cause I think we got another winner here!
This was an exceptional feature debut by Chloe Domont, a direction both palpable and unpleasant, that it appropriately dips itself into nihilism. With every scene, it feels specifically designed to push the boundaries of bad taste and the restrained hatred she lets loose for these types of environments highlights how deft her voice is behind the reins.
Presentation-wise, it merely avoids running into your typical restrictions of the erotic-thriller and as the glossy, pressurised world of finance makes the perfect backdrop for tense, thrilling drama, Chloe uses that strength to suffocate the audience until the end. It disguises its own unfortunate predictability by having no expendable moments within every scene, Brian McOmber’s insistence on ominous cadence adds to his intense score and the production design tries its best to anchor the limited settings to install that feeling of claustrophobia while cinematography is nothing short of brilliant, making use of stellar lighting, some snappy editing and clever staging to constantly enhance the stakes of the story; Menno Mans using his shots like a foreboding comedic punchline without the latter was nothing short of caliginous.
Most of the dialogue comes off both authentic and alien at once, it’s lurid in its muted color tone to add to the unpleasantness and while Alden Ehrenreich tackles his characters aplomb descent into cowardice with brilliant restraint, this is Phoebe Dynevor’s movie; it’s a breakout performance that’s nothing short of empowering and impeccable.
There is a LOT to unpack with this story. As a scandalous workplace/romance drama that does more than simply dissect gender politics or fragile masculinity in the workplace, ANY workplace, there is DENSE exploration that comes from the volatility and pitfalls women face not only in having to minimize their earned successes within their intimate relationships but also have their competency and advancement smeared at work. While most workplace movies tend to bludgeon the point over your head with a sledgehammer, Chloe opts instead to go for a shiv and aim right for the jugular, taking her time slowly chipping away at the bitterness and fragile egos of two polar opposite characters until nothing is left but disdain and hatred. So much of this script is tightly crafted in the way it subtly plants seeds for a relationship on the edge of implosion; it’s vampiric in how easily toxicity can tear anything apart.
Normally, most films like this have a way to make it look and come across more conventional than this but its presentation is starkly chilling in how plausible it plays out. Literally ANYBODY can end up in this situation with enough insecurity and self-indulgence and it really depressed me and infuriated me at once. It’s romance versus blood. Aggression versus perception and the pacing being balanced on a razors edge is indicative of the cut-throat nature that comes with business.
Although I will say a lot, A LOT of the scenes here tend to get repetitive despite the production design’s best efforts and there are some rigid back-and-forth dialogue that doesn’t help matters either. I don’t exactly mind the ending cause it was going to escalate to that point but I do agree the execution could’ve used a LITTLE bit of fine tuning.
As a fascinating portrait of souls becoming corrupted, there’s a rawness to this films execution that does truly make it enthralling to watch but with all that being said, I don’t think I have any intentions in watching it again. Once was enough for me.
