‘Fair Play’ exclusive: Chloe Domont, Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich breakdown the Netflix thriller: It’s ‘a story I couldn’t not tell’ [Watch]
The Netflix thriller “Fair Play” has been stoking debate among viewers since its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. But as the project’s breakout writer-director Chloe Domont explains in an exclusive featurette provided by Netflix and available below, that was the general point of her relationship thriller.
“Everyone is going to come out of this film feeling a certain way based on who they are and what experiences they had. I think it’ll fuel conversation and debate and I think that is essential,” Domont says in the featurette. “The whole film is teeing up this thriller undertone, and I believe that no matter how much you twist and manipulate genre, you still have to pay it off at the end. As a thriller, the philosophy of every choice was just creating as much tension as possible.”
More from GoldDerby
Set in the high-stakes financial world likely familiar to fans of shows like “Industry” and “Billions,” the latter of which has counted Domont as a director, “Fair Play” is about a newly engaged couple (played by Chloe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich) whose relationship is pushed to the brink after an unexpected promotion at their place of work.
“My first reaction was silence. I had never read anything that spoke to my soul, but it just really spoke to me in a way that no other screenplay ever has,” Dynevor, who also starred in the first season of the Netflix hit “Bridgerton,” says in the new featurette.
“When I first read the script, I was really struck by how personal it felt. You can feel when a writer is writing something that is borne out of their actual personal experience,” Ehrenreich adds.
“It was a story burning inside of me, a story I couldn’t not tell,” Domont explains. “I wanted to reckon with some unresolved feelings we had in the past, specifically dating men who I felt were threatened by any little bits of accomplishments.”
“Fair Play” debuted earlier this year on Netflix and spent three weeks in the global top 10, according to data provided by the streaming platform. Fans of the film have praised “Fair Play” for its style and Domont’s ability to balance the relationship with its cutthroat setting.
“When I first started writing the script, I started mapping out the relationship drama. Once I figured out how that would unravel and implode, I was looking for a backdrop to set it against. I landed on finance,” she says. “For one, the high-stakes nature, I felt I could emotionally relate to those highs and lows and how the toxicity of a work environment feeds into the toxicity of a relationship and it becomes this vicious cycle you can’t escape.”
“Fair Play” is available now on Netflix. Watch the exclusive feature here to find out more about the film.
PREDICT the 2024 Oscar nominees through January 23
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
