Erotic thriller “Fair Play” takes gender war into the office

Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor star in “Fair Play,” Chloe Domont’s corporate battle of the sexes. (Netflix)

Fair Play

Starring Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Sebastian De Souza and Rich Sommer. Written and directed by Chloe Domont. Now playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox; also streaming on Netflix. 115 minutes. R

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (out of 4)

Peter Howell

Movie Critic

A stronger term than “sharks” is needed for the corporate and courtship savagery in Chloe Domont’s arresting feature debut.

Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich are brilliant as lovers and co-workers willing to slash Cupid’s throat for career advancement.

It all starts sweetly enough: Dynevor’s Emily and Ehrenreich’s Luke, aflame with ardour and lust, decide to get secretly engaged, despite the no-office-romances rule of the cutthroat New York hedge fund they both work at.

Then Emily gets a promotion that Luke thought he deserved — she actually becomes his boss — and their ruse of platonic collegiality starts to unravel.

Luke’s damaged pride metastizes into an accusatory manner, as he attempts to gaslight Emily and make her doubt her worth and question her methods. It’s a terrible thing to do to someone you profess to love, but there are no holds barred in this battle of hearts and egos.

British character actor Eddie Marsan viciously ups the ante as the hedge fund’s scheming overlord. 🌓