Fair Play is a 2023 American erotic psychological thriller film written and directed by Chloe Domont, in her feature directorial debut, and starring Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, and Rich Sommer. The film follows a young couple whose relationship starts to unravel following an unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund firm.
Fair Play premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023, and was released in select theaters on September 29, before its streaming release by Netflix a week later, on October 6. The film received positive reviews from critics.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Emily Meyers and Luke Edmunds are analysts at One Crest Capital, a cutthroat Manhattan hedge fund. The two are in a passionate relationship they keep secret from their co-workers. Luke proposes to Emily while at his brother's wedding, and she happily accepts. The next day at work, one of the company's portfolio managers is fired. Emily overhears her colleagues mention that Luke is being considered as a replacement, and passes the news onto him; the two celebrate that night. However, the firm's CEO Campbell summons Emily to a meeting late in the night to tell her that she will in fact be receiving the promotion. Emily reluctantly breaks the news to Luke, but he expresses his support.
As Emily settles into her new job, Luke's resentment over not being promoted becomes increasingly apparent, leading to tensions in his relationship with Emily. Luke privately becomes consumed with the work of a self-help guru coaching men on how to assert themselves in the workplace. Their sex life is strained; at one point Emily tries to initiate sex and Luke says he is not feeling up to it. She then crawls onto him and tells him that she doesn't care what he feels like, and that she would do all the work. He ultimately denies her and goes to bed.
While out for drinks with Campbell and Paul, a senior executive at the fund, Emily learns that Campbell is seeking to get rid of Luke, considering him ineffectual. Emily attempts to advocate more for Luke in the workplace, but it backfires when Luke makes a poor trading call that loses the company $25 million, leading to Campbell harshly insulting her. Luke attempts to rectify his mistake by feeding Emily insider information confirming the rumored collapse of a company whose stock the fund can short. Concerned that the trade is illegal, Emily recommends Campbell to short another company, which proves successful; she receives a hefty commission. Emily considers celebrating her success with Luke, but opts to go to a strip club with her male co-workers instead after Luke ignores her attempts to celebrate. She comes home intoxicated, leading to a fight with Luke where he shames her for dressing and behaving like one of the prostitutes her colleagues habitually hire for their nightclub outings.
When another portfolio manager is fired the next day, Luke demands that Emily recommend him for the role to Campbell, but she hints that Campbell is not interested in promoting him. Luke then goes to Campbell's office and makes a grandiose speech pledging his loyalty to him, only to learn Campbell has already hired a new portfolio manager. That night, Emily learns that her overbearing mother has planned a surprise engagement party for them that Friday. A drunken Luke accuses Emily of stealing his job, but Emily reveals that Campbell wanted to fire him, leading Luke to storm out.
The next day, while Emily, Campbell, and Paul pitch to overseas investors, Luke barges into the conference room intoxicated and causes a scene, berating Campbell for denying him a promotion and revealing his relationship with Emily, which has been in violation of company policy since her promotion. An infuriated Emily is unable to reach Luke over the phone, only to find him at the engagement party. The two argue in front of their families and guests, and Emily smashes a bottle on Luke's head when he suggests that she traded sexual favors for a promotion. Emily retreats to a bathroom where Luke finds her and the two argue further before having sex; after it has started, Emily tells Luke to stop, but he rapes her, violently shoving her face against the bathroom sink. The next morning, to protect her job, Emily tells Campbell that Luke was stalking her and that the two were never in a relationship.
Emily returns home to find Luke there, having packed up his belongings and planning to move in with his brother. Enraged by his nonchalant demeanor and demanding an apology for raping her, Emily attacks Luke with a kitchen knife until he breaks down crying and begs for her forgiveness. Emily orders him to clean his blood off the floor and leave. She drops the knife and lets out a huff of laughter.
| Spoiler Warning: All spoilers have been stated and have ended here. |
Cast[]
- Phoebe Dynevor as Emily Meyers
- Alden Ehrenreich as Luke Edmunds
- Eddie Marsan as Campbell
- Rich Sommer as Paul
- Sebastian de Souza as Rory
- Sia Alipour as Arjun
- Brandon Bassir as Dax
- Geraldine Somerville as Emily's mother
- Patrick Fischler as Robert Bynes
Production[]
Fair Play was announced in December 2021, with Chloe Domont writing and directing, and Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor set to star in the film. Production began in January 2022 in Serbia. In February, Sebastian de Souza, Eddie Marsan and Rich Sommer joined the cast.
Release[]
Fair Play was released in select theaters on September 29, 2023, before streaming on Netflix on October 6, a week later. The film's streaming release was originally scheduled for October 13, before it was moved forward.
The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023. Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film, after a bidding war between half a dozen companies including Searchlight Pictures and Neon, for $20 million. It had its international premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023.
For its European premiere, the film was shown in the section Feature Film Competition of the 19th Zurich Film Festival in late September 2023.
Reception[]
Fair Play garnered very positive reception from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 220 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "With assured style that's at times reminiscent of the best '90s nail-biting thrillers, Fair Play juxtaposes premarital disharmony with greed and gender politics in the cutthroat finance world." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
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