'Fair Play': How Netflix's steamiest movie is bringing back the erotic thriller

Erotic thrillers have gone out of vogue in recent years, but the breakout Sundance Film Festival hit Fair Play is guaranteed to steam up your streaming device when it hits Netflix's New Releases row on Oct. 6. 

Written and directed by Chloe Domont, the film plays like a cross between Wall Street, Disclosure and The War of the Roses — all of which, coincidentally enough, starred one-time erotic movie staple, Michael Douglas. Domont's sexually-charged story follows Luke and Emily (played by Solo's Alden Ehrenreich and Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor) an absurdly attractive couple working at the same financial firm whose hot-and-heavy relationship cools significantly when she scores a promotion that he covets.  

"The film happens to have some fun sex scenes," Domont tells Yahoo Entertainment when asked if she's ready for Fair Play to go viral as Netflix's sexiest movie — a title previously held by less-acclaimed fare like 365 Days and Deadly Illusions. "I don't know about those labels, but there's definitely a sexual nature to it."

Watch our interview with Chloe Domont below 

Of course, there's more — much more — to Fair Play than "fun sex scenes." The movie also explores the contemporary gender dynamics in male-dominated workplaces like the financial sector, as well as the fault lines the can develop in personal relationships as the balance of earning power shifts. But much of the post-Sundance buzz around the film has certainly focused on its frank sexuality, which is increasingly rare to see in both major studio movies and even independent films. 

Part of that might be due to the emerging generation gap that separates Gen-Xers and millennials from Gen Z and Gen A when it comes to depictions of sex in media. That's a regular topic of discussion on X, formerly known as Twitter, where older viewers blame younger audiences's supposed "sex negativity" on everything from parental supervision to Marvel movies. Meanwhile, memes proliferate about the "useless sex scenes" in so many movies and TV shows, with viewers offering up such examples as Oppenheimer and "half of Netflix shows." 

Domont has her own theories for why younger audiences may not be as hyper-focused on sex scenes in movies as generations past. "Maybe it's because everyone's on their freaking phones all the time," she suggests. "Seriously — I think that's what it has to do with. We're so much more comfortable talking to someone through a screen than we are in real life." 

At the same time, the filmmaker says that she hasn't personally experienced that divide when she's screened Fair Play for audiences. "I'll follow TikTok to see how that's tracking," she says with a smile.

Domont says that she and her starts worked with an intimacy coordinator for all of the film's sex scenes, including a harrowing final encounter where Luke rapes Emily in a restaurant bathroom after their relationship has fallen apart. 

"This is a couple that had this animalistic lust for each other in the beginning of the film," the director says. "But as soon as Luke starts to feel insecure, he's unable to give that to Emily. I set out to make a thriller about power dynamics on the ugliest level, so it always had to escalate to that [final] moment. The only why Luke can reclaim power over Emily in that moment is through physical dominance. And then it becomes about how is she going to hold him accountable?" 

"We shot that scene in two parts," Domont continues. "We did everything for performance first, because it was quite demanding for both of them. And then we treated the physical part like a stunt; it was very technical where their bodies are going to go and what positions they were going to be in. That made everyone feel safe and freed them to not have to worry about acting their faces off while also wondering where they were going to be at any given moment." 

Thirty years ago, Fair Play almost certainly would have been funded and distributed by the same studios that backed vintage erotic thrillers like Basic Instinct and Color of Night. Fortunately, Domont found eager partners in T-Street, the production company overseen by proven hitmakers Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman. "Those guys were as determined to make the film as I was," Domont says. 

Their determination paid off when Netflix paid $20 million to acquire the film out of Sundance — one of the festival's biggest deals. 

While Netflix will release Fair Play in select theaters, Domont knows that most audiences will stream it at home — the same place where so many viewers encountered Fatal Attraction or Sliver for the first time courtesy of HBO and/or Blockbuster Video. "I want as many people to see this movie as possible," she says. "With the global reach that Netflix has, it was clear they were going to be the best collaborators for it." 

Fair Play is currently streaming on Netflix

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is here for survivors 24/7 with free, anonymous help. 800.656.HOPE (4673) and online.rainn.org.