Phoebe Dyvenor's Fair Play: Juxtaposition of romance and violence

*This article contains spoilers about the film

Fair Play is an erotic thriller set in the cutthroat environment of a hedge fund in New York city. The film delves into issues such as corporate dynamics, gender roles, and intimate partner violence. 

The opening shots of the film establish its central theme, where the monotonous colour scheme of the New York office reveals the ultimately dehumanising and transactional nature of the corporate world, which is juxtaposed with the livelier environs of a wedding party, where ironically the central character, Emily, played by Phoebe Dyvenor, is aloof and alone. 

As the story progresses, it is revealed that Emily and Luke are in a passionate and seemingly blissful romantic relationship. They are on the brink of getting married but keep their relationship secret due to the policy of their company. Their shared apartment thus acts as a contrast to the monotone of the office, establishing both a private space where they can relax after working long hours in a cutthroat environment and a testament to the clandestine nature of their relationship. 

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However, this relationship slowly descends into toxicity and ultimately violence, as Emily receives a promotion that both believe was originally intended for Luke. The climactic moment of the film is gruesome and ironically takes place in the apartment where they share seemingly blissful and intimate moments. 

The film explores several themes that are increasingly relevant today. While both Luke and Emily work extremely long hours in a hyper-competitive and stressful environment, where one’s colleagues are more likely to deceive than support, the pressure on Emily is more due to her gender. She appears to be the only woman at a senior position in her firm and the men around her are part of a masculinist culture that involves objectifying women and making sexual innuendos. This is reflected in a scene where Emily, visibly uncomfortable, is with her male colleagues at a strip club where they share explicit stories from their college days. 

Ironically, while Emily is a very bright and competent employee, she is constantly having to prove her worth to her colleagues who subtly undermine her due to her gender. Interestingly, the film explores the price women have to pay for success not only in the public but the private sphere as Emily’s relationship with her lover suffers due to her success, which is also reflective of larger gender dynamics at the workplace. 

While Luke is shown to be a less competent employee than Emily, almost on the verge of getting fired, he feels emasculated and undermined by her success. Their relationship slowly disintegrates due to this. Although initially he appears supportive of her, at least superficially, and says that he is proud and happy for her, his true feelings soon emerge.

From feeling undermined at having to work under his fiancée, fuelled by the disdain of his colleagues, to his lowered self-worth at his partner earning more than him, the couple slowly drifts apart emotionally. This is reflected in scenes at their apartment, where once they used to sleep entwined in each other’s arms, their postures are now rigid.

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This is contrasted with Emily’s stance, where she is genuinely happy for Luke at having bettered himself professionally, and even feels guilty for ‘stealing’ his promotion, a sentiment he echoes towards the end of the film. The deteriorating relationship is portrayed through verbal and nonverbal cues, such as Luke’s stiff body language while communicating with Emily at work, and his snide remarks about her dressing like a ‘cupcake’, which is linked to the larger gendered politics at work.

Emily for instance takes this remark to heart and tries to prove that she is ‘one of the boys’ by drinking excessively and accompanying her colleagues to the strip club. Emily is also shown to be a woman from a working-class background who had to struggle for her success, while Luke is an entitled individual, who, although less deserving, was from a wealthy family. 

The relationship between the leads comes to a violent end when Luke accuses Emily of providing sexual favours to her boss to achieve the promotion, which is foreshadowed in his initial ‘concern’ about her boss assaulting her. This occurs at their engagement party, thrown by both their families, who were also invested in their relationship. Ironically, Emily, partly due to pressure from her mother, tries to empathise and reconcile with Luke, before he publicly attempts to sabotage her career and reputation. 

The intimate scenes in the movie are reflective of larger gendered power dynamics. While initially, they show love and passion between the couple, which is on an equal footing, after Emily receives her promotion, her partner stops being physically affectionate with her, which is also symptomatic of the emotional distance between them.

While Emily appears to be more assertive at the workplace, where she offers to help advance Luke’s career, and also in the bedroom, where she jokingly asks Luke to get intimate with her in exchange for professional help, as a man he ultimately retains power over her. This is seen when he taunts her about her dress, accuses her of illicit relations with her boss, and in a graphic instance of sexual assault, where he physically hurts her as he cannot defeat her professionally.

The movie in a way critiques male violence as a weakness as Luke resorts to violence only when his self-esteem is shattered. 

The characters in the movie are well developed, whether it is Phoebe as a professionally competent but ultimately vulnerable woman who has a troubled relationship with her mother, or her boss as an intimidating and ruthless figure who only values competence and is unmoved by his employees’ sentiments, tellingly reflected in a scene where Luke begs for a promotion and states how much he idolises the former.

The initial chemistry between the leads is also intense. Emily’s phone becomes a metaphor for the difficult nature of her work, where she can be expected to show up for the job literally at odd hours of the night.

Overall, this is a powerful and moving film that shows the true nature of a modern, success-oriented society. 

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)