If there was any justice on this planet, the rise of streaming would spark revivals of the genres that the normal studios have deserted — i.e. just about all the ones that don’t contain superheroes or science-fiction. The erotic thriller (or actually any image that offers with issues of sexuality in a severe method) looks like precisely the kind of a film that’s crying out for extra consideration on these platforms, which will be loved within the consolation and privateness of 1’s own residence. So one thing like Truthful Play, a thriller with a number of fashionable twists, is a welcome addition on Netflix for that motive alone. I simply want it have been a greater execution of a really promising thought.
The thought: Monetary analysts Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are an influence couple within the making. They work collectively at a high-powered New York Metropolis hedge fund, dealing in inventory transactions price tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}. Unbeknownst to their co-workers, Emily and Luke are additionally a pair away from the workplace. Because the movie begins, Luke awkwardly proposes to Emily at a marriage, and he or she fortunately accepts. When their colleagues aren’t wanting, they’ve an especially energetic intercourse life. It looks like they’ve obtained all of it found out.
Reader, they don’t have all of it found out. Turnover at their funding agency is excessive, and when Luke’s boss will get canned, Luke figures he needs to be in line to interchange him. As a substitute, the corporate’s head honcho (Eddie Marsan) offers the job to Emily — that means Luke has not solely missed out on a promotion he believes he deserves, he now studies to his fiancé.
On paper, it’s the proper setup for an exploration of gender and energy dynamics within the fashionable office; a Disclosure with out the extremely foolish finale involving unhealthy digital actuality. However whereas Truthful Play is undoubtedly much less foolish than Disclosure it’s not far more severe — and it’d really be so much much less provocative. As excessive as ’90s thrillers have been, no less than they have been admirably edgy of their themes (and, sure, typically fairly attractive as effectively).
In Truthful Play, all the pieces about this story seems like a fait accompli. Emily’s promotion doesn’t a lot poison her relationship with Luke because it spontaneously combusts it; as an alternative of watching their gradual decline, Luke nearly instantly turns into a distant, resentful monster. Inside minutes, he’s misplaced his confidence at work and within the bed room, and turns into consumed with the teachings of a poisonous self-help guru he finds on the web. There’s little or no suspense the place issues are headed, and never a lot stress.
It additionally feels a bit disconnected from the world of Wall Road it’s supposedly exposing. A lot of the key scenes involving Emily and Luke’s jobs proceed in related style: A bunch of macho finance bros sit round a giant convention desk monologuing about fictional shares — till Emily inevitably interrupts with some stunning details about some new growth that solely she has heard about, and everybody else within the room acts like a bomb simply exploded at their toes. Truthful Play was additionally largely shot in Belgrade, and takes place in a handful of swanky eating places and glossy, glass-walled workplaces. The true New York taste very important to this story is generally lacking.
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Dynevor and Ehrenreich are each very simple on the eyes, and when the story permits — which isn’t that usually — they do have chemistry collectively. Their closing scenes crackle with a darker and extra disturbing vitality as effectively. However Truthful Play’s center part offers neither of them very a lot to do past a repetitive sequence of clashes, some passive-aggressive, some aggressive-aggressive, the place Emily continues to climb the company ladder and Luke sinks deeper into self-loathing.
The mere existence of Truthful Play makes me joyful; that is precisely the sort of film Netflix and its opponents ought to make extra usually. But when they made them a bit extra intense and stunning, I’d not complain.
RATING: 5/10
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