Fair Play Movie Review

Fair Play (2023)

Watch Fair Play on Netflix
Written by: Chloe Domont
Directed by: Chloe Domont
Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel far more than their recent engagement.

Verdict
A relationship slowly crumbles. A promotion splits Luke and Emily as his sexism won't allow him to admit that Emily is more skilled. While he praises her at first, his actions reveal his true feelings. This is about why it's difficult for women to succeed in a male dominated field and just how fragile some male egos can be as well as the lengths they will go to justify their immaturity. It's well done and a deep take on why workplaces can be harsh for women.
Watch It.

Review
I can't say I've ever seen a film start like this one does. Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) have quite the time in the bathroom while making out which astonishingly leads to them getting engaged and then ditching the party.

They work together at a hedge fund office that discourages dating. They haven't told anyone and don't plan to until they've advanced their careers. It's a high stress job where people flip out when fired. Emily and Luke are still entry level, and the relationship could hurt their employment.

Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich play Emily, Luke

Emily overhears that Luke is getting promoted, and they're both excited. It turns out that Emily got the promotion. Luke says he's happy for her, but he's also got to be disappointed. Luke overhears sexist workplace chatter about how Emily got the job. None of the comments are about her ability or skills. Luke doesn't join in, but he also can't defend her lest he reveals their relationship.

The promotion makes her his boss. She's pushing for him to get promoted too, but the head of the company doesn't think much of Luke, hoping Luke will quit. Luke starts working harder, though it seems in spite of Emily not because of her. He becomes more distant, even jealous. Then Luke voices that she got the job only because she's a woman. That goes even further when Luke defies Emily as his boss, making a move she told him not to. The company loses money and Emily is blamed. He plays it off as no big deal, but he also doesn't apologize.

Their relationship is headed down and out. Luke cannot accept the power dynamic. He told Emily he was happy for her, but he told her what he was supposed to say, not what he felt. Their relationship devolves to them insulting each other. Luke keeps cutting her down, which is rich from someone that embarrassed himself by begging for a promotion. Finally Luke states she stole his job, which she didn't. His solution is to sabotage Emily completely.

This movie is about Luke's fragile ego. He can't admit someone he seemed to care about earned the job, that she's more skilled. He even rants about how she doesn't know what it's like to be in his position, but they were both entry level. Luke will imagine whatever reason to make himself feel better and justify his immature actions. She did better and he can't admit it. When they thought he got the promotion she was truly happy for him, when she gets the job he's in complete denial. His coping mechanism is to put her down and insult.