Kritiken

Domont’s perfectly calibrated script occasionally veers into the overly theatrical, its grand monologues and rigid back-and-forth dialogue not helped by the film’s limited and repetitive settings. However, her thrilling mastery of slow-burn tension, insightful examination of power dynamics in business and personal relationships, and creation of exceptional performances prove Domont to be a director with a singular voice.

[A] taut and impeccably orchestrated narrative of bad romance, carried superbly by Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich... Domont is squarely on the side of ambitious if imperfect women often saddled by entitled men. But she isn’t short on distressing insights into the headspace of patriarchy-enabled dudes, either. That’s what makes Fair Play a perfect thing that knows exactly what it’s doing.

Fair Play is caustic and enthralling, but mostly it’s the kind of movie that makes you wince with recognition — or, in any case, if you’ve ever made yourself small to avoid the rage of an insecure man.

There’s something bracingly modern yet deliberately old-fashioned about [Fair Play]... The beauty of the screenplay, by Domont, is that Luke remains vaguely sympathetic even while he’s self-detonating. Casting Ehrenreich, who’s now regarded as the “beta Harrison Ford” (courtesy of the Star Wars flop), was a genius decision.

A few outrageous turns strain credulity in the final act, but the film... still feels like something of a small miracle in 2023: a sexy, intelligent thriller for an adult audience.

Domont’s approach is much less interesting formally than it is narratively... Domont might have the male ego in her crosshairs, but her film adeptly picks off broader targets too, making this an engaging watch and an impressive first feature.

If there’s a significant flaw to this confident and compelling debut feature, it’s that it’s sleazy enough to be fun beyond its serious-minded overturning of antiquated gender dynamics, but not quite trashy enough to be truly juicy.

Rather than predictably lamenting male cruelty, Domont nearly fashions a film rich in the ungovernable ironies that spring from the collision of lust, status, and rationality... Fair Play is a terrific movie, but it sends audiences home with a clear conscience.

While Domont and her cast have made a corporate thriller set in the dog-annihilate-dog world of hedge-fund capital, what they’re really going for is nothing less than bringing back the erotic thriller... And while no one can say whether Domont’s contribution to the dormant genre will inspire a fresh round of fatal attractions and jagged edges, Fair Play has, at the very least, given us the sort of date-night-debate plutonium that we’d been missing.

Wilfully provocative — and going to extremes to make its points — this psychological drama sometimes strains credibility, but its poisonous cauldron of greed and contempt proves arresting.

[A] ruthless, and ruthlessly entertaining, feature debut... With a delicacy that more genre films aiming to tackle weightier topics could afford to emulate, Domont cooly constructs a contemporary story about how a gendered disparity in finance and power can wreck a seemingly successful relationship.

The key to the film’s potential success isn’t just that it’s made in a commercial genre. It’s that “Fair Play,” while full of sex, money, corporate backstabbing, and a lot of other things that are fun to watch, really is a good little movie.