by Robert Bouffard, Editor
If you were searching for two of the best, young actors in Hollywood for a two-hander chamber piece, Christopher Abbott and Margaret Qualley would be towards the top of the list to consider.
Abbott has (not so) secretly been the best part of everything he’s been in since his days as Charlie on Girls, and with Possessorand especially On the Count of Three in the last few years, it seems like he’s been right on the cusp of breaking through. His intense, walled-off presence always keeps him intriguing, even while at arm’s length. On the Count of Three displays this particularly well, as he’s an abrasive yet endearing mental patient who’s ready to end his life.
Qualley, meanwhile, steals scenes in the cult hit The Nice Guys, as well as being a magnetic screen presence opposite Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. And with her starring turn in Claire Denis’ Stars at Noon, it’s certainly apparent Qualley has the juice to catch the eyes of auteurs. Unlike Abbott, her presence is typically more energetic and at times erratic.
In Sanctuary, what initially seems like a meeting between a banker and her client quickly reveals itself to be a little more… Rebecca (Qualley) isn’t a banker at all; she’s a dominatrix, and Hal (Abbott) is still her client, but a different kind than it initially appears. Hal is the wealthy successor to a hotel company, and since his father has recently passed away, unlike Succession’s Roy kids, he knows that it’s his turn to take over. So when he tells Rebecca that he doesn’t want to see her anymore, things move from cordial to chaotic.
Rebecca doesn’t take the news well, and starts making all kinds of threats to Hal, both psychological and physical, as they remain confined to the space of Hal’s high-end apartment, which Rebecca had him cleaning, on his hands and knees, in his underwear, just a few minutes earlier. Of course, this is where the actors’ skills are truly given a chance to shine.Abbott plays against type, while Qualley turns up the dial on how she’s known. On the surface, Hal is a submissive, timid, and unconfident character, while Rebecca would put the Joker to shame in her ability to be an agent of chaos. The actors, easily the main reason to watch the movie, are almost self-effacing, willing to go to some unconventional places, narratively and emotional.
These places also perfectly inform the themes of identity and confidence. Not only is Rebecca a dominatrix; Hal also writes them highly detailed scripts to follow in each of their sessions, in which they play alternate versions of themselves. The character Hal’s written for himself is obviously aspirational, and fueled by his lack of confidence and near self-hatred. Concurrently, Rebecca is aware of the monetary differences between them, and the chaos is a result of her wanting a slice of the pie which she believes she helped Hal bake. He wouldn’t be in any position to take a job like this, she says, if it wasn’t for her instilling so much of his confidence.
So with the performances from these two on-the-cusp stars bringing extra depth to these already intriguing characters, director Zachary Wigon has a successful movie on his hands. Even with a script that perhaps short serves the end of this story, and the relative lack of depth to the themes, Sanctuary is still a brisk, breakneck experience. Hopefully it’ll go down as another stepping stone to success in the careers of these would-be stars.
Score: 7/10
Sanctuary is currently playing in theaters
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