Sanctuary follows the rich heir to a hotel chain as he tries to break off his relationship with a dominatrix. She refuses which leads to a tense night of lies and revelations. This movie stars Christopher Abbott and Margret Qualley as our leads Hal and Rebecca and it lives and dies with their performances.
This is a very contained film, in the sense that there are only two real characters and one main location. I truly did not mind at all, because Abbott and Qualley really brought it. Both of them are able to flip their personas on a dime believably. Their performances made it so easy to engage with a plot that is intriguing but not something I’d normally seek out. Their characters engage in a power struggle all night but it was very clear who was in charge.
Qualley in particular stood out to me. It was like that scene in Hereditary where Toni Collete’s character goes from terrified to stoic in a second. One second she’s panicked and the next she’s asserting herself over Hal. She knew every button to hit with him and it was poetry in motion. To Abbott’s credit, he was still great. He put on this facade of being in control when it was clear deep down he wanted to be controlled.
Contained in just one hotel room, there are some really interesting shots. They are able to make the hotel feel so much larger than it is. Add in the tension and stress that Rebecca puts on Hal and it feels both spacious and claustrophobic.
The ending felt a bit off to me. It was a big shift in emotion and I didn’t think it fit. The resolution itself made sense, but it came off as too light after the tense night that came before it.
Final Thoughts
Sanctuary is a movie that flew under my radar. It wasn’t showing at my theater so I had to wait to find it, but it’s worth the watch if you have the time. The premise makes it sound more graphic than it is but this is just a good ol’ fashioned character struggle with some great performances from the leads.
