{"id":30291,"date":"2023-10-24T20:54:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T19:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/?p=2037989"},"modified":"2023-10-24T20:54:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T19:54:49","slug":"provocative-fair-play-doesnt-play-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/24\/provocative-fair-play-doesnt-play-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Provocative \u2018Fair Play\u2019 Doesn\u2019t Play Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chloe Domont\u2019s \u201cFair Play\u201d made a sensational debut at the January 2023 Sundance Film Festival, then made a belated premiere on Netflix this month.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like any film festival favorite that premieres on a high-profile streaming site, there\u2019s the danger of it being overshadowed by flashier fare.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re fully on board with writer\/director Domont\u2019s take-no-prisoners thriller or (like myself) find the third act lacking plausibility, this is an admirable, risk-taking work that is worth seeing alone for the courageous performances of its stars, Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich.<\/p>\n

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Luke (Ehrenreich) and Emily (Dynevor) work at a Manhattan hedge fund and manage to keep their passionate relationship a secret from their co-workers. While Luke works as Emily\u2019s analyst and can\u2019t seem to get the promotion he feels is within reach, Emily ascends to the upper ranks at the beckoning call of Campbell, her powerful, repulsive boss (a vividly despicable Eddie Marsan).<\/p>\n

While Emily and Luke are business-only colleagues during the day, their romance and plans to further their relationship power their time alone together, hidden away in their apartment. The real trouble for them begins when the power dynamic between them shifts.<\/p>\n

Imagine the setting of \u201cMargin Call\u201d combined with the uncomfortable frankness of \u201cMarriage Story\u201d and you have this movie. \u201cFair Play\u201d is easy to admire and the two lead performances are stunning – Dynevor, a \u201cBridgerton\u201d favorite, conveys the tortured path her character takes and Ehrenreich (\u201cSolo: a Star Wars Story\u201d) matches her scene for scene.<\/p>\n

While the film may cause some to declare it feminist, Domont is actually exploring how a terrible work environment inwardly destroys both of its protagonists in different ways. Yes, by the film\u2019s end, Luke has sunk to a new low but so has Emily, who mirrors her vile boss in the film\u2019s painful final moment.<\/p>\n

Picking sides isn\u2019t the point here – this isn\u2019t the \u201cBarbie\u201d movie.<\/p>\n

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The opening scene, both outrageous and tender, had me hooked. The film manages to sustain enough suspense over whether Emily and Luke\u2019s relationship will become an HR cautionary tale or remain hidden from their cruel co-workers.<\/p>\n

The early intrigue falls prey to contrivance and showy actor set pieces don\u2019t ring true. How is it that the company car picks up Emily in the morning and never notices Luke walking out of the same building just seconds after her?<\/p>\n

Who on Earth would actually go to the climactic wedding party that acts as a last stand for the protagonists?<\/p>\n

FAST FACT: Netflix gobbled up the rights to “Fair Play” for a reported $20 million<\/a> after the film wowed a Sundance Film Festival crowd.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, my biggest complaint: that in-the-office freakout that causes a main character to be fired. I didn\u2019t buy it for a second and only admired the actors for going through with it. If anything, a scene that occurs earlier, where a character literally gets down on his knees and lays everything on the line for his boss, is far more plausible and painful.<\/p>\n

When Domont is connecting her characters to unearthed emotional honesty, it\u2019s as harrowing as it intends to be. However, when she stacks the melodrama and public embarrassments to the breaking point, \u201cFair Play\u201d doesn\u2019t play fair.<\/p>\n

I understand why the lead couple wouldn\u2019t be discovered in the laboratory of the opening scene but that drawn out shocker in the third act? There\u2019s no way someone wouldn\u2019t have interrupted them.<\/p>\n

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Asked some HR professionals to watch Fair Play and they have notes! pic.twitter.com\/V60gyqHakt<\/a><\/p>\n

— Netflix (@netflix) October 15, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n