Fair Play 4K 2023 2160p NF WEB-DL

An unexpected promotion threatens to ruin the lives of a young couple hiding quite a few skeletons in their closet.

Fair Play 4K Review
Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are a happy couple who work at the same Wall Street financial firm. The lovers hide their relationship to avoid a scandal at work. When the position of manager is vacated, Luke hopes to get the coveted place. But the bosses choose Emily. The girl is rapidly climbing the career ladder, and Luke begins to envy the success of the bride. Constant quarrels, intrigue, emotional and physical violence - the life of partners turns into a living hell.

"Playing by the Rules" - a brilliant feature debut of director Chloe Domon, who previously worked on the series "Force Majeure" and "Billions" (in other words, the author knows how to portray the web of power). The director does not seek to squeeze the movie into the framework of a particular genre: the Netflix project is a marriage story, a corporate drama and an erotic thriller. By the way, despite the title text and the advertising campaign of the project, there is not much sex in the picture. The intimate life of the heroes cracks at the seams after the promotion of the girl. The wounded male ego destroys everything that at the beginning of the relationship seemed ideal.

In a world where the gender pay gap is still a thorny issue, the following situation is not often seen: a woman earns more than her partner. Emily is an employee of a male-dominated company, and her lover is aiming for a high-paying position. The girl is so used to belittling her own merits that at first she feels guilty about the well-deserved promotion. Luke mechanically says "I'm happy for you", but a spark of envy is already burning in his eyes. Paranoia grips the man: it is much easier to think that your companion slept with the boss than to believe in her professional skills.

The heroine Phoebe Dynevor daily flounders in a cauldron of misogyny. Slanted glances from coworkers at work are followed by cold attitudes from her fiancé at home. Emily needs to keep the golden mean: try to keep a low profile, so as not to anger others, and at the same time do not make even tiny mistakes, so as not to disappoint the boss. Talented financier is not enough to sit in the manager's chair. Emily needs to be "her own" in a male company, so that she is finally treated as an equal: for example, to visit a strip club and listen to salacious stories. The manager juggles several responsibilities at once: bringing profit to the firm, trying to put in a good word for her boyfriend and maintain fragile relationships with colleagues.

"Playing by the rules" adds to the extensive catalog of films about the world of finance. The picture is saturated with information about numbers, stocks and sales. Employees talk about investments every day, but the essence of their dialogs can hardly be caught in the lightning pace. The intrigues of Wall Street in the story act as a setting for a discourse on gender politics and sexism. Chloe Domon has chosen the perfect backdrop for the story: the tense rhythm of analysts' lives adds to the unsettling tone of a movie about the battle of the sexes.

For all its varied themes, Domon's brainchild is first and foremost a story about power. Strikingly, Emily doesn't fully feel power after achieving success, and her partner's comment about her appearance can instantly make her doubt herself. Status, her own office and vast sums of money - the heroine has everything except a sense of power. The dominant position in the relationship is maintained by a completely incapable analyst Luke, who can suppress the girl both emotionally and physically. Only in the finale Emily feels a surge of rage, and the director further thickens the colors.

Chloe Domon demonstrates the glass ceiling and power dynamics without didacticism. She doesn't need to make the protagonist a victim: Emily is actually a calculating woman who survives in an office masculine environment and accepts the rules of the game. All the characters are anti-heroes trapped in the system. The film begins and ends with a scene of blood: a metaphor for a violent society, bleeding capitalism or the doom of unhealthy relationships, Domon speaks of everything at once. Yet he doesn't overwhelm the plot, but makes it flow smoothly. This grim thriller stays in your head for a long time and forces you to scour Chloe Domon's future projects - you can't miss potential treasures.