MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Erotic Thriller/Stars: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer, Sebastian de Souza, Geraldine Somerville, Patrick Fischler/Runtime: 113 minutes
I think it’s a pretty safe statement to make that, among the distinct elements which make up the world as we know it, there is one that has always hit home with the force of a sledge hammer, the swiftness of a pack of piranha, and the ferocity of a pride of lions. That being the component known as “the battle of the sexes” or as I like to call it: just another weekday rerun of The Jerry Springer Show. Now for those of you either not in the know, who’ve been living under a rock, or both this concept is one that can best be defined as the continual rivalry, opposition, or just plain butting of heads between men and women in the world around us. Indeed this is a concept that has been showcased in literature (Much Ado About Nothing), music (I mean YOU try and tell your significant other you don’t want to listen to the latest Taylor Swift album another 100 times and see where that gets you), television (I Love Lucy), sports (the 1973 Battle of the Sexes tennis match), and (surprise surprise) the realm of cinema as well. Indeed from more lighthearted examples like When Harry met Sally, His Girl Friday, and Adam’s Rib, serious fare like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Way We Were, and even delightfully dark comedic fare like War of the Roses from 1989 among others, there is no denying that throughout the twists and turns of history authors, songwriters, and even filmmakers have long found quite a bit of gold to be mined from this thar concept. Having pointed this out however, it should be said that there are moments where this iconic battle is not one that is played for laughs or even mild chuckles, but instead is meant to be seen as a grim and searing look at the way the world is for that given time in the hope that maybe it can inspire us to begin making changes for the better. The reason I bring this up dear reader is because I feel like the fairly new slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, 2023’s Fair Game, is definitely one movie that fits that very description to a t and then some. I mean make no mistake dear reader: if you are the kind of viewer who likes your movies fairly clean or with even a remote degree of consistent positivity then I hate to be the one to say this, but this is not the kind of movie for you. I say that because this is a very potent and hard hitting slice of cinema that contains moments throughout that would make even the main characters from the aforementioned War of the Roses realize that sure one ran the other’s cat over and then the other reciprocated by nearly roasting them alive in their home sauna, but all things considered…..their own dysfunctional marriage really isn’t all that bad. Having said that though, if you’re the kind of person who is ok with watching a nightmarish yet riveting slice of cinema about a pair of people who see the forces of gender and office politics slowly but surely turn their loving bliss into a rancor-drenched nightmare then this is definitely for you. Suffice it to say that it might not be for everyone let alone a perfect film, but with the aid of compelling and provocative work on both sides of the camera Fair Game is one hard hitting slice of cinema that I promise will sink its talons into you and not let go even after the end credits finally begin to roll…
The plot is as follows: Fair Play “2023” gets its riveting tale underway by introducing us to our two main characters in the forms of a young man by the name of Luke Edmunds and a young woman by the name of Emily Meyers respectively. A duo that, among other things worth knowing about them, are a low on the corporate totem pole so to speak pair of that distinct group of individuals known as financial analysts for a hedge fund in Manhattan called One Crest Capital that is probably the organization that you would see being described in the dictionary within the definition for the phrase “dog eat dog”. Oh, and I guess there is one other thing that you ought to know about this couple. That being that, unbeknownst to their co-workers, they are engaged in a very passionate romantic relationship with each other. A relationship that, fairly quickly, transforms into an engagement courtesy of Luke deciding to propose to Emily right in the middle of his own brother’s wedding. Suffice it to say that it would appear that our pair will soon be headed for first a beautiful wedding followed in short order by the two of them living happily ever after to the end of their respective days. Unfortunately, we see that Lady Fate doesn’t exactly have this in mind for our pair….at least with each other anyway. This is because, the day after the wedding, we see that not only is a portfolio manager at work suddenly left go, but the rumor that Emily quickly picks up on around the office water cooler is that the person being considered to take on the position instead is none other than Luke. Overjoyed, we see that she breaks the news to him and the two celebrate later on feeling that at long last the road to success is finally theirs to traverse upon. Things soon take a turn though when we see the firm’s more than slightly Godfather-like CEO request that Emily come back to the office for an emergency late night meeting and, at this meeting, proceed to tell our heroine that it is her who is being promoted and not Luke. Yet despite her extreme reluctance, we see that Emily is eventually able to tell Luke this news and at first Luke seems to take it rather well. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before some of the more negative emotions that exist in the world around us such as jealousy/envy, resentment, and insecurity begin gaining a foothold in this once happy relationship and begin to take it down a significantly more toxic let alone darker path. One that, by the time we get to the end of where it leads, will have managed to dramatically change the lives of both of our main characters in more ways than they could ever begin to imagine…..
Now right off, it is worth pointing out that the work done behind the camera on this slice of cinema is nothing short of top-tier. This starts with the truly remarkable work done by film helmer Chloe Domont. Indeed through her work in the director’s chair we see that Domont manages to achieve something fairly remarkable in how she gives us a slice of cinema that, even though both characters become in their own ways quite despicable and thereby not the easiest characters to really want to follow for a 2-hour stretch, you will still find yourself both riveted by and left guessing on from beginning to end. To be sure, there are those people out there who will see the trailer for this and say “oh this is just a modern-day take on a Skinamax flick from the 90s” and yes in the name of fairness I suppose there are quite a few elements that this slice of cinema does have in common with those particular movies to say nothing of ones in the vein of Disclosure and Fatal Attraction (the movie not the mehhhh Paramount+ show). Having said that though, there is no denying that Domont is able to do a wonderful job at countering those ingredients with a fairly brilliant script that fans of the show Billions will relish, annoy and irritate those ok with exerting their toxic masculinity, and give the rest of us mere mortals a fair amount to ponder both during the movie proper and long after the credits have begun to roll. With all of that in mind however, it is worth pointing out that (if I am being completely honest) the more erotic moments in this slice of cinema really don’t make for the most attention-landing bits to be found in this slice of cinema. I say this because not only is there not a single iota of anything remotely provocative about them to say nothing of the slightly extravagant style found whenever someone in the vein of say Adrian Lyne has done one of these kinds of films, but also because Domont instead makes the choice to helm these moments in a manner that is thankfully a lot more low-key than you might be expecting. We also see that Domont is able to brilliantly utilize the thriller components to the film in order to aid her in not only providing the audience with a very ominous yet effective vibe, but also in how she is able to construct and then execute a potent slow-burn type of tension to the proceedings that works perfectly. Not just in the moments set in the workplace shared by our two main characters, but also in the scenes dealing with their relationship with each other as well especially when it all comes to a shattering head by the end. Besides the wonderful work done by helmer/scribe Domont, we see that the wonderful work done by the technical crew does a fantastic job at doing everything they can to provide us with a very on-point aesthetic that might be stylish, but which also chooses to put its emphasis on the characters at the heart of the story first and foremost whilst the editing department excels at underscoring just how sharp this film gets and the musical accompaniment triumphs in how it manages to ever steadily rising the unease and ominousness as this 21st century cinematic battle of the sexes really starts to intensify. Suffice it to say then that in terms of the work done behind the camera this slice of cinema definitely gets the job done and then some.
Of course, the other big element that definitely without question helps make this slice of cinema work on the level that it ultimately does dear would have to be the incredibly skilled performances given by the talented cast of players in front of the camera. This without question starts with the work done by Alden Ehrenreich in the role of Luke and he is equal parts electrifying and downright revolting. Indeed this is a very difficult part to play because this is a character who has to start out as this seemingly loving and supportive guy who then, as the film goes on, begins to slowly but surely revealing more and more of his (unbeknownst to us and the other characters in this) hidden amounts of toxic masculinity, jealousy, self-doubt, and fury without ever once feeling like he’s less a legitimately menacing and pathetic human being and more a character we’ve seen takes of in at least a hundred other movies. Thankfully not only does Ehrenreich not ever give off the vibe of being a walking stereotype in this, but he manages to do a frighteningly effective job of making this guy act and feel like someone we might have known at one point or another in our own lives. Suffice it to say that, between this plus Cocaine Bear and Oppenheimer, 2023 really has been a wonderful comeback year for him following his last cinematic outing in 2018 not doing as well as a movie with the “Star Wars” label maybe should’ve, or arguably could’ve, done and I can’t wait to see where his career goes from here. Besides the riveting work done here by Ehrenreich however, we see that he is met beat for beat perfectly by Phoebe Dynevor in the role of Emily as she manages to bring a drive, determination, ferocity, and even vulnerability to this career-focused woman who is willing to work her heart out to get where she wants to be in life from a professional perspective, but who is still worthy of our sympathy as an audience especially when we see all the ways that her significant other Luke and other guys at the office are willing to put her down or look down on her. Finally, the last performance that I definitely think is worthy of note here would have to be none other than Eddie Marsan in the role of Emily and Luke’s extremely mercurial boss Campbell. Indeed I have long enjoyed Marsan’s work in such films as Atomic Blonde, The Gentlemen, Deadpool 2, the first 2 RDJ Sherlock Holmes movies, and even Gangster No. 1 among others and here he does a phenomenal job at giving us an irascible tyrant of a boss in the financial world who seems to be less Gordon Gekko and more in the vein of a quite cantankerous Don Corleone. Suffice it to say then that this slice of cinema might be hard for to get through, but for those of you who are able to make it through let alone give it a shot in the first place I can promise you that the work done by this cast of players will certainly help to make it worth your while.
All in all and at the end of the day, is Fair Game “2023” a perfect slice of cinema? Honestly as intriguing as that would be, that is most assuredly not the case with this film. Having said that however, is this the worst slice of cinema since this film’s leading man thought being in Warren Beatty’s big “comeback” film back in 2016 was a wise career move? Thankfully, I can definitely say that is not the case either though to be fair there are elements of that movie that I did enjoy with his performance being one of them. Rather, I would say that this slice of cinema is a gripping, electrifying, and extremely potent film that (most likely due to specific bits of content that I shan’t spoil here to say nothing of how the two main characters really treat one another as the film goes on) is one that I can definitely say will not be for everyone’s distinct viewing “pleasure”. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who, like me, can embrace a film being as brutally as honest as this one manages to be with how it showcases the reasons that are always lurking just under the surface of a romantic relationship that can, if not properly dealt with, cause that relationship to go up in flames really quickly whilst also incorporating a razor-sharp drama in the world of finance into the mix as well….then I think you will find more than a fair bit to enjoy here. Suffice it to say that it might not be perfect, but with the aid of riveting work on both sides of the camera, Fair Game “2023” is cinematic proof that maybe just maybe Pat Benatar was on to something when she wrote the song “Love is a Battlefield”, but especially so when it comes to love and romance found in the corporate world. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Fair Game “2023” a solid 4 out of 5.
