A trailer for Chloe Domont’s “Fair Play” has been released, via Netflix. The film was one of the highlights of this past January’s Sundance Film Festival.
Netflix bought “Fair Play” for an astounding $20 million at the festival. Was it worth that much money? I’m not sure. However, this is the kind of film that will have people talking, and its release could also ignite heated conversation.
The film is set to screen at TIFF in September. Will it catch some much-needed traction? The reviews have been very good. It’s at 76 on Metacritic and its RT score is at a respectable 90 percent.
Here are excerpts from my review:
“Making her feature directing debut, after helming episodes of Billions, Suits, and Ballers, Domont’s “Fair Play” stars Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor as a Wall Street power couple who can’t get enough of each other, until a coveted promotion turns the gender powers around in their relationship.”
“This film is all about the exchanges between the lovers, as their relationship begin to sour into sinister dynamics. The cutthroat Wall Street player is portrayed by Domont in savage ways. What does masculinity mean exactly in a relationship if the woman makes more than the man?”
“Domont hides her cards until a crushingly awkward finale pulls the rug up from under the audience. Nearly every line has hidden, not to mention sinister, meaning here. You’re watching the crumbling of love and the emergence of ruthless opportunism.”
“Dynevor delivers a strong performance as the ambitious Emily, but shockingly, if it takes time to warm up to Ehrenreich’s presence, he manages to find an incredible vulnerability in his work here.”
“In her explosive feature debut, Domont has made a film reminiscent of a ‘90s psychological thriller (that’s a good thing), unflinchingly pitting partners against each other in a world that is constantly changing the conformist gender roles we’re used to having.”