Young, lusty and getting richer by the second, Emily and Luke work for a New York hedge fund called One Crest Capital. Their relationship — they live together — violates company policy, but so far, so good; their discretion has paid off. The hedge fund, dominated by smug, paranoid bros, has bigger problems, usually relating to recently fired financial analysts getting their walking papers and breaking things on the way out, fighting through tears of rage and shame.
The latest manager meltdown leaves a coveted vacancy. Emily gets the nod. Luke’s response appears a little more mature and supportive than Emily, or the audience, might expect. And then writer-director Chloe Domont, making a crafty feature debut, turns “Fair Play” into a dissection of relational suspense, workplace intrigue and the least balanced example of work/life balance imaginable.
Ever since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, “Fair Play” has been praised as bringing back the “sexy corporate thriller,” that ‘90s staple that somehow always managed to make the women look like she-wolves from another planet. You can call it that if you like. But the movie works, I think, because as a couple, Emily (Phoebe Dynevor of “Bridgerton” and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich of “Solo” and “Oppenheimer” transcend simple character dynamics — before and after the mutual undermining has begun in the wake of Emily’s promotion.
They’re both shrewd and pretty vicious capitalists. Emily’s instincts outweigh Luke’s, and it may be simply a matter of the numbers — the millions made for the boss, played with unblinking watchfulness by Eddie Marsan — that sends Emily up the chain, while the lazier and more erratic Luke stays in neutral. If he’s lucky.
The performances match the movie’s stealthy, sleek, slightly otherworldly aura. (The film was shot mainly in Serbia, with a few New York establishing shots.) Domont worked on, among other shows, “Ballers” and “Billions” and here, she goes further into juicy ambiguities of motive, ethics and the price of conspicuous success, or failure. The movie’s casual sense of irony keeps the scenes rolling; in one scene, a diversity, equity and inclusion (and harassment) training presentation, with every bro in the room scrolling their phones, becomes the backdrop for the latest pink-slip meltdown happening in the corner office.
“Fair Play” really does manage to play fair in terms of balancing our antipathy with our voyeuristic interest in what’s happening. Some of it’s humorously inevitable; the minute Luke gets passed over for his secret fiance’s promotion, you can almost hear the sound of his carnal drive hitting the floor with a plop. I’m not sure the story’s resolution entirely serves what comes before it; it’s not predictable, exactly, and it avoids turning into a different sort of genre just for thrills, yet Domont’s writing and direction are both skillful enough to make me want a few extra minutes in the final round.
These are small drawbacks in a small-scale but large-reward project. Take the time to see it.
“Fair Play” — 3.5 stars (out of 4)
MPA rating: R (for pervasive language, sexual content, some nudity, and sexual violence)
Running time: 1:53
How to watch: Premieres in limited release in theaters Sept. 29; streaming on Netflix Oct. 6.
Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
Twitter @phillipstribune