Two good performances by Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott weren't enough to save me from this bloated talkfest that I felt just became more repetitive and unbelievable as it progressed.
The film's premise continually revolves around the struggle for power between a dominatrix and her client when their relationship becomes threatened (along with some dime-store daddy issues thrown into the mix), but the scenario and dialogue became so increasingly tedious that after awhile each consecutive scene began to feel like just another adaptation of what I had already witnessed. Micah Bloomberg's screenplay is set entirely in an apartment, and each time either of the characters attempts to leave and goes to wait for the elevator, the writing predictably and mechanically finds some improbable reason to pull them back into the suite so the drama can continue all over again. Besides eventually becoming ho-hum, the setup just became too far-fetched for me to believe. There's also a scene where Ms. Qualley abruptly turns on Abbott's stereo in mid-discussion and for some reason begins dancing in a wildly bizarre manner to loud music while the characters continue their repartee; it seemed at that point like Zachary Wigon, the director, was trying desperately to do something different to finally break the film's monotonous conversation, but instead the result felt cringey and embarrassing.
It's hard for me to surmise that all this photographed dialogue would be any more effective had the film have been shaped as a play; instead, I think "Sanctuary" would have had more impact as a twenty-minute short rather than increasingly struggling to stay on its feet for a full 96 minutes.
Lastly, I wholly expected a plot twist at the end that didn't end up happening... instead, I was a little disoriented by the film's very last scene, which reminded me a 60's romantic comedy trying to suddenly wrap everything up in a perfect, although completely unfeasible, bow.
The film's premise continually revolves around the struggle for power between a dominatrix and her client when their relationship becomes threatened (along with some dime-store daddy issues thrown into the mix), but the scenario and dialogue became so increasingly tedious that after awhile each consecutive scene began to feel like just another adaptation of what I had already witnessed. Micah Bloomberg's screenplay is set entirely in an apartment, and each time either of the characters attempts to leave and goes to wait for the elevator, the writing predictably and mechanically finds some improbable reason to pull them back into the suite so the drama can continue all over again. Besides eventually becoming ho-hum, the setup just became too far-fetched for me to believe. There's also a scene where Ms. Qualley abruptly turns on Abbott's stereo in mid-discussion and for some reason begins dancing in a wildly bizarre manner to loud music while the characters continue their repartee; it seemed at that point like Zachary Wigon, the director, was trying desperately to do something different to finally break the film's monotonous conversation, but instead the result felt cringey and embarrassing.
It's hard for me to surmise that all this photographed dialogue would be any more effective had the film have been shaped as a play; instead, I think "Sanctuary" would have had more impact as a twenty-minute short rather than increasingly struggling to stay on its feet for a full 96 minutes.
Lastly, I wholly expected a plot twist at the end that didn't end up happening... instead, I was a little disoriented by the film's very last scene, which reminded me a 60's romantic comedy trying to suddenly wrap everything up in a perfect, although completely unfeasible, bow.