David Farnor | On 14, Oct 2023

Director: Chloe Domont
Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan
Certificate: 18

“How did I get so lucky?” “Are you talking about me or your job?” That’s the sound of a relationship about to put through the wringer in Fair Play.

Written and directed by Chloe Domont, the film follows Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich), two analysts working for a lucrative hedge fund on Wall Street. Forbidden to date other people within the company, they keep their relationship secret – but when Emily is promoted above Luke into a coveted senior role, their bond is put under a pressure that neither of them anticipated. Or did they?

That simmering awareness of an uncomfortable tension between them bubbles brutally to the surface as the taut 110 minutes unfold – what begins with comments at the office soon veers into attempts at sabotage, accusations of distrust and more. Domont’s script sharply skewers gender and power dynamics, dissecting the kind of problems that can upset the most loyal of couples – but also takes care to start with a couple who, as one strangely sincere bathroom encounter suggests, are messy more than anything.

But make no mistake: as the leads, Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich are a perfect couple. Dynevor, freed slightly from the constraints of Bridgerton, shows her full range as a woman who knows that she’s better than the men around her think and has to find a cut-throat edge to match her ambition. Ehrenreich, meanwhile, delivers a well-observed study of male insecurities, diving into toxic depths as he turns from a purported ally into an insidious drip-feeder of cruelty.

In between them, Eddie Marsan gives strong support as a ruthless boss who perhaps is already aware of the nastily sexist environment he has created. The more the stakes increase, both personally and professionally, the straighter the cast plays everything – and Domont tightens the screws to craft an intense, dark and deliciously twisted thriller.