It was hard for me to identify exactly why I wasn't enjoying Chloe Domont's well crafted and well acted sexual thriller, Fair Play, but about 3/4s of the way through it dawned on me; this sort of heterosexual banality that we've seen played out a million times is... well, rather dull. Fair Play has an interesting premise underlying it which is rather bold, yet its never quite manages to deliver on its promising premise.
It is the story of a seemingly happy couple, both professionals in the same field (hedge fund capital), whose relationship is torn apart by her promotion over him. Yes you see where this is going right way. Do we even wonder how this is going to play out?
The film starts out quite interesting, a clandestine sexual adventure at a party by a couple who clearly love each other leads to some awkward but affirming connection when her period begins and they handle the moment quite respectfully. The movie uses this to make us think they are enlightened and equals, only to have the story tear that down and reveal how ingrained heterosexist patriarchy is even in men who we are to believe are "evolved". Ehrenreich's character ends up as petty and insecure as any cishet white man. Fair Play's drama ramps up to moments of violence between the two (even a knife fight!!) until he eventually rapes her. The connection of gendered relationship roles to the inevitability of violence is interesting and one that I wish the film managed more deftly. The movie ends with her getting a triumphant moment where she can humiliate him for revenge and I think this is where it cemented for me that the film's sexual thriller motif betrayed the film's underlying message. This "battle of the sexes" pastiche feels so worn and undermining to any kind of credible critique of gender politics in heterosexuality.
The film ends up using each character as a stand in for their gender and the common perceptions attributed to each. She is treated with the expected misogyny at their firm that one would expect (her boss even calls her the B-word at one point) and despite his galant presentation at the beginning he is reduced to calling her all sorts of gender specific humiliating names and treating her as an object by the end. She isn't any more well rounded. She responds to the clearly unfair conditions by taking on traditionally masculine read roles, being "one of the boys" including tagging along to the strip club, and telling off colour jokes that aren't funny. She compensates by trying to people please. It all feels like the most basic summation of gender politics there can be.
The film seems to be making a fatal critique of heterosexuality all together and the futility of working within patriarchy to upend gender norms. This bleak message could be quite interesting to contemplate but instead of making us dwell there with that stark realization, the film chooses to end with crowning a winner almost justifying participation in that "battle of the sexes". So in the end the film's indictment of patriarchy feels just too safe ending with a "tit for tat" style safety value that makes us feel like it can all be okay.
I think there is a lot here and I think Fair Play is the kind of movie that can lead to a lot of discussions. But I also think it feels stuck in an old world way of viewing gender politics that is, honestly just not as interesting as newer ways of constructing interpersonal dynamics.
Fair Play
Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer
Writer/Director: Chloe Domont
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