‘Sanctuary’ Review: Who’s the Boss?

If you’re somebody who commonly bemoans the dearth of films for adults, then take coronary heart: “Sanctuary” is right here for you. Shot virtually solely in a single location and in simply 18 days, Zachary Wigon’s supremely assured second characteristic (after “The Heart Machine” in 2014) is a jet-black romantic comedy hidden inside a twisty psychosexual thriller. Or possibly it’s the opposite manner round.

It scarcely issues. The writing (by Micah Bloomberg, a creator of the 2018-20 TV collection “Homecoming”) is so sharp, the appearing so agile and the cinematography (by Ludovica Isidori) so creative that what might have been a stuffy experiment in lockdown filmmaking is as an alternative a vividly involving battle of wills. On one aspect we’ve got Hal (Christopher Abbott), the presumptive inheritor to his not too long ago deceased father’s chain of luxurious resorts. On the opposite is Rebecca (Margaret Qualley), a brisk magnificence who arrives at Hal’s plush lodge suite, pulls out a sheaf of papers, and proceeds to ostensibly assessment his suitability to take over as C.E.O.

But one thing is off; and as Rebecca’s questions develop more and more inappropriate — and Hal’s responses seem blatantly untruthful — it’s revealed that she’s his longtime dominatrix, taking part in her half in a well-worn situation. This time, although, Rebecca is improvising on Hal’s meticulously pre-written script, and his displeasure is barely the primary level of friction in a dizzying collection of energy performs that swing from sexual to monetary and, lastly, emotional. Alongside, Isidori’s cheeky digicam mimics the pair’s risky maneuverings, swooping and flipping by way of 180 levels because it exams the restrictions of what’s primarily a two-character play, reworking it into one thing that’s typically thrillingly cinematic.

Unfolding over one fraught night time, “Sanctuary” dances on the border between fantasy and actuality. Hal, a soft-shell weakling who’s nonetheless steeled by entitlement, needs to start his new life as “a person who wins.” As such, he feels the providers of a intercourse employee are surplus to necessities; and as he strikes to finish his relationship with Rebecca, his actions — offering a lavish dinner and the present of an costly watch — insultingly mimic the acquainted tropes of the retirement ceremony. He’s about to search out out, although, that this worker is not going to be pensioned off so simply.

Both actors are glorious, however Qualley is chameleonic in a task that requires her to slip seamlessly from playful to stern, crafty to confrontational, penitent to downright scary. At instances, as when Hal erupts with surprising violence, her face freezes and we are able to virtually see her contriving methods to regain management of a all of the sudden harmful state of affairs. If she’s to succeed, she’ll want greater than a expertise for debasement and humiliation.

Sexual however not attractive, “Sanctuary” is fantastically dynamic and emphatically theatrical. The ending feels too easily settled, but it surely no less than prods Hal and Rebecca to reply the movie’s central query: Where does role-playing finish and actual life start?

Sanctuary
Rated R for nasty discuss and naughty conduct. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters.