Writer/director Chloe Domont breaks down a pivotal scene in her tense relationship thriller starring Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich.
All is fair in love and finance…or is it?
“This is a film about male fragility.”
Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich in ‘Fair Play’.Courtesy of Netflix
“A woman trying to make her way up in any industry faces those challenges,” she states.
“Every industry, for the most part, is still a man’s industry.
For Dynevor’s Emily, that includes being able to both dole out and receive verbal abuse.
Netflix
Domont breaks down the crucial showdown.
“Luke starts to use his insecurity as a weapon against Emily.
“She agrees to go along with him for this move,” the writer-director continues.
But instead, she goes with him on it because of what happened the night before.
Then because of that, they lose big.”
At the heart of this argument is Emily and Luke’s extremely varied approaches to trading.
“She’s looking where other people aren’t looking.”
“She’s like, ‘No, we have to wait.
We have to see where the numbers go.’
But she doesn’t go with her gut instincts because she’s been cut down by him.
“She’s the one that decided to go ahead with it.
He had to convince her to do it because she’s his superior.
Instead of offering Emily support or understanding, Campbell immediately calls her “dumb f—ing bitch.”
“She’s incredibly shocked by it,” says Domont.
“She thought this was a man who was here to champion her.
Yes, she f—ed up, but did she deserve to be called that?
“Campbell hires her because he thinks she’s a killer,” Domont continues.
“He gives her this job opportunity because he sees her value regardless of gender.
That’s where the comment ‘dumb f—ing bitch’ comes from.
I wanted to show that duality and how that still exists today.
That was key to the scene in Domont’s eyes.
“I wanted to show how ‘Me Too’ never hit the finance world,” the director says.
That’s why he says it again.
She looks at him shocked by it, and he says it again.
He doesn’t apologize.
I wanted to double down with, ‘I can say whatever the f— I want.
You don’t like it, then f— off.”
Fair Playis streaming now on Netflix.
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