Fair Play, which is currently Netflix’s current number one film, has received plenty of praise since its launch last week – but there’s one scene in particular that’s really got people talking.
The erotic thriller follows a young couple, Emily and Luke, who both work at the same ruthless hedge fund, where they have to conceal their relationship due to its work policy.
As the film unfolds, trouble looms for Emily and Luke – who are portrayed by Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor and Oppenheimer’s Alden Ehrenreich – as one of them is promoted and their relationship takes a dark turn.
An early scene sees the pair attending Luke’s brother’s wedding, and things get steamy when they dash to the bathroom to get busy.
Luke proceeds to perform oral sex on Emily, and as he emerges, he kisses her dress and leaves a trail of blood stains. It doesn’t take long before they both suss out that Emily is on her period, resulting in them bursting into laughter.
Luke’s reaction is reassuring, rather than shaming, and just moments later, a ring falls out of his pocket and he proposes.
The intimate scene has been praised by Decider, who said that the scene helps cast Luke in a sympathetic light early on in the film, stating: “What could be more attractive than a man who eschews the societal norm of menstruation shame?”.
Men’s Health agreed it “helps to destigmatise a perfectly natural bodily function and normalise period sex”.
Meanwhile, according to GQ, “Luke isn’t disgusted or shocked by Emily’s period, instead, it’s treated like a normal part of their lives”.
People on Twitter (formerly known as X) are also applauding the film for its depiction of period sex, which too often is seen as taboo.
Speaking with Elle, Phoebe suggested that if the film had been directed by a man instead of Chloe Domont the sex scenes wouldn’t be the same.
“’Why would we do that? That’s not sexy’—that’s what they would think,” she said.
“But it draws you in and you know that this isn’t going to be your average film. When you see a film like this, it really pushes you to want to create more and put more female influence out into the world. We as women know these things happen all the time, but why are we not seeing it on our screens?”.
Fair Play is available to stream on Netflix now.