FAIR PLAY
Cert 18
113 mins
BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence
When we think of Wall Street, the common cinema images are represented by the likes of Gordon Gekko or Jordan Belfort.
They are bullies in a man's world and are unswerving in their belief in their 'greed is good' ideology.
But Chloe Domont's Fair Play offers a different dynamic in which a highly intelligent young woman's talent rather than bravado earns her place at the top.
However, the complication is that her promotion is coveted by a colleague who is also her secret boyfriend.
Phoebe Dynevor is terrific as Emily who initially believes rumours that her live-in lover and co-analyst Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) has been earmarked as a replacement for a fired boss at their hedge fund.
She is doubly happy for him because he has proposed to her at a friend's wedding.
But it turns out that the tip was wrong and she is called to a late-night bar meeting with her ruthless company chief (Eddie Marsan) to be told she has the job.
Now she is to be in charge of her boyfriend and the shift in their dynamic is seismic.
Meanwhile, their employment could also be in jeopardy because their relationship is strictly against company rules.
Fair Play is as tense as any film this year. I could barely look at the screen for fear of what would happen next as the relationship between Emily and Luke unravels.
The action is bewildering but believable (I have known secret relationships such as Emily's and Luke's despite the pressures).
Dynevor and Ehrenreich are terrific in the lead roles and I especially loved the way Marsan carries off the role of their boss with unswerving ego and menace.
They contribute to a riveting movie.
It also reminded me of the workplace back in the 1980s and 90s when machismo was encouraged and rewarded.
Reasons to watch: Tense and original thriller
Reasons to avoid: Some complex financial elements
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Did you know? Out of almost 7,800 Wall Street analysts that TipRanks tracks and ranks, only 547 of them are female.
The final word. Chloe Domont: "It was many years of having this feeling that my success didn’t totally feel like a win, because of the kinds of men I had been dating — that me being big made them feel small. It just made me realise how much hold these ingrained power dynamics still have over us, and that was something that I wanted to put onscreen and explore." New York Times
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