SummaryWhen 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 am...
SummaryWhen 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 am...
I’m not sure the story’s resolution entirely serves what comes before it; it’s not predictable, exactly, and it avoids turning into a different sort of genre just for thrills, yet Domont’s writing and direction are both skillful enough to make me want a few extra minutes in the final round.
Nos últimos anos, há um movimento crescente da filosofia estoica, a qual preza pelo controle racional de nossas ações. Num mundo em que a imagem ganhou contornos de verdade, não é de se espantar que movimentos que resgatem a lucidez como forma de contraponto à era dos símbolos ganhe terreno cada vez mais premente, e neste filme, tendo como cenário uma empresa de ativos financeiros, vemos seus protagonistas apaixonados "pisar em ovos" a todo o instante.
Da cena tórrida da paixão ao controle de suas emoções, o filme começa apresentando a rotina daquele casal, que sequer pode expor-se, e não se trata nem de uma questão apenas moral, mas também está institucionalizado nas regras formais da empresa.
A câmera então acompanha de forma eficiente ambos, no tom e tempo certo para que os dois mostrem suas personalidades. Mesmo que em muitas cenas eles atuem separadamente, seus olhares se cruzam, suas falas remetem (veladamente) ao parceiro, e vemos como a rigidez de seus corpos no espaço corporativo é tanta que passam completamente desapercebidos. Há, assim, um estudo sobre os corpos.
Note como soa o alarme, a distância perante a família e amigos, o noivado que não é público. E muito interessante trazer esse elemento da intimidade, quando estamos acostumados ao bombardeio de informações de nossas vidas particulares nas redes sociais.
Então, com um começo avassalador, o filme hierarquiza seus corpos num movimento de ascensão profissional da mulher, que passa a ser sua chefe. O roteiro, por mais que às vezes tenha soado um tom acima, aproveita-se do clima de gênero para tecer os percalços de cada um, e aí notamos que a cultura machista explode em nuances, como na sugestiva menção da promoção feita pelo noivo de que sua parceira teria conseguido subir na empresa por meios nada convencionais.
Algumas cenas dela sendo chefe, frequentando bares e rodeada por homens, ficaram meio duvidosas, mas deram o tom da mensagem do texto. Por mais racional que sejamos, o ambiente corporativo ainda é tomado pelo machismo estrutural e por elementos mais irracionais de nossa cultura.
É um filme para se apegar aos detalhes da dupla, e por mais que não seja um casal de veteranos (tenho certeza que se o fossem, o filme teria outro status), é um trabalho digno e altamente competente, com muita coisa a dizer naquele microcosmos.
Mesmo que tenha me incomodado o discurso mainstream que ela acaba abraçando, não se pode deixar de ficar contente com o desfecho politicamente correto e um tanto quando empoderado da trama. Foi pelo caminho mais fácil, claro, mas com charme.
Excellent film about two very ambitious people who work at the same firm on Wall Street and are in a relationship. Chloe Domont, is the writer and director of this fantastic first feature.
When a hedge fund promotes a she (Phoebe Dynevor) over a he (Alden Ehrenreich)—they’re engaged— gender politics becomes a powerhouse erotic thriller which newbie filmmaker Chloe Domont wants couples to leave arguing like hell. No worries. They wil
Domont’s feature is occasionally uncomfortable to watch because of how things unravel, but it’s unnerving and utterly heart-pounding in all the best ways. An exceptionally strong feature debut from Domont.
The film drags to some degree in the middle, but that’s because Domont isn’t afraid to wallow in the messiness of watching this relationship fall apart almost in real time. This is also the sort of movie that makes the viewer very, very grateful to see in the credits that an intimacy coordinator was involved, especially as things get darker towards the end.
Chloe Domont’s feature debut Fair Play cuts deep even as it comes dangerously close to careening off the cliff of plausibility with a screenplay that dips into sophomoric.
An oddly-dated, obvious and overwrought melodrama about gender roles and the toxic masculinity of Wall Street hedge funders, “Fair Play” is practically a parody of decades of women in the workplace romantic thrillers.
Hey, Streamers! For those looking for something not so spooky in this "spooky" season, there are plenty of offerings on streaming services that might catch your eye. Netflix has some promising releases this month, one of which is the indie thriller, Fair Play. From a first-time writer/director, Chloe Domont, this movie explores gender politics in the workplace through the eyes of a young, ambitious couple. Here's how it **** Fair Play, Phoebe Dynevor plays Emily Meyers, an analyst at a fast-paced New York hedge fund, who is in a clandestine relationship with a co-worker, Luke Edmunds played by Alden Ehrenreich. The couple makes a concerted effort to keep their relationship secret at work despite the fact that they are living together and newly engaged. When a promotion to a manager position becomes available, Emily overhears that Luke is being considered for the position and shares the office gossip with him. However, when Luke gets passed over for position, the relationship between Luke and Emily is tested. Gender dynamics and stockbroking hijinks ensue.Chloe Domont has written sharp and incisive movie. She has written really interesting characters and placed them in a complicated situation that could be universally experienced. Emily and Luke work in a high-powered, high dollar, fast-paced world of finance, but they could be in any career field and go through the same challenges. Domont has directed this movie, which is really just a relationship drama, to be like a taut thriller. It will get your heartrate up. There is genuine suspense as to what will happen at the job and in the relationship. This is an outstanding debut film.Furthermore, Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich are fantastic. They have great individual moments and they are so good together. The tension in the relationship is palpable. There's enough sexual energy to understand why these characters would be together, and they each have a sense of naked ambition that fuels the engine of the plot.Ultimately, Fair Play may be mischaracterized as a thriller, but that doesn't mean it isn't thrilling. This movie is an outstanding relationship drama brought to us by a promising writer/director. There is not a wasted moment and each scene further pulls you in. Grab a big box of popcorn and enjoy!
I understand why this movie is in 'Mystery' genre because the whole plot is a mystery and makes less than 0 sense. It's not a bad movie but every decision made by every character is an absurd one.
Fair Play is what you get when you cross the "Me Too" movement with a bit of the old Fatal Attraction and Wall Street thrillers.
Good looking people reaching for the golden ring, and hurting one another, not with physical violence but with the mental violence of words and mind games.
This was a bit **** pleasure where I was able to forgive the 2 main leads when they were way over-the-top OVER ACTING, because just like back in the 80's Phoebe Dynevor is easy on the eyes as was Glenn Close & Anne Archer.
Ultimately--is the price one pays for sucess worth the heartache when jealously rears its ugly head?
It’s amazing how one film can be predictable, implausible and preposterous all at the same time, but writer-director Chloe Domont’s debut feature manages to pull off this trifecta of lamentable attributes with remarkable ease. This alleged psychological thriller goes from bad to worse as its plot hole-filled story degenerates from a boring, clandestine office romance into an over-the-top envy-driven battle of egos when one partner unexpectedly gets promoted over the other at a prestigious Wall Street firm. The way in which this unfolds, though, is largely laughable, despite an underlying message that has some noteworthy merit (even if it’s a bit trite in this day and age). The picture might be more worth watching if the two protagonists (Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich) weren’t so inherently deplorable and portrayed with some of the hammiest on-screen acting I’ve seen in a long time. This is all made worse by one of the most awful scripts I’ve come across in a while, with almost as much tawdry, needlessly foul language since “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). Put these qualities together and you’ve got an absolute work of utter trash that makes the prime time soap operas of the 1980s look like epic storytelling. Indeed, as far as how this one plays, all I can say is “No fair.”
A weak variation of Promising Young Woman, without the wit or style, but with all of its absurdity. Starts out okay, then descends into a discourse on male pattern awfulness... depicts its male lead as insecure, venal, jealous, rude, psychotic and sexually abusive. The female lead behaves badly, but is justified because she's "a woman in a man's world." Sad that this is the most a female writer/director has to offer. Left me wondering why Alden Ehrenreich took this part. Is his career in this much of a nose dive? An ugly, dumb film.