Sanctuary

I feel like I harp on this point too often, but 'Sanctuary' is another prime example of a film doing so much with so little. You could make this film with next to no budget, and simply with a terrific script and great performances you have a film that is infinitely more compelling than your average $250 million blockbuster. This was a good one.

To stretch a concept this seemingly simple out over 95 minutes without it becoming stale is a hell of an effort. There were a couple of times where I thought the film was losing steam, but then a new angle would come up and it was like the film was starting fresh again. Even when the film ended I would've happily watched another 30-40 minutes of this story.

I love the air of mystery surrounding the events in the film. I really had no idea where it was headed. In fact I had a theory but that turned out to be aggressively wrong. This was a very well crafted film. 9/10.

When is a game not a game? When it's real life? Is real life though, not a game? Aren't we all playing games all of the time in some way or another? Games, roles, responding to the situation, never quite sure what's real or not.

How much of this film was a game? Was their game, just part of a larger game? Is play the only way to be who you really are? Assuming a role to be the person you want to be and having another along for the journey?

In the early stages of the film I wondered why they cast Margret Qualley. She's pretty, and a very good actor, but this role is beneath her and she's not especially sexy, so she can't pull off the role of the dominatrix properly. Then it dawned on me: she wasn't playing a dominatrix, she was playing his girlfriend, playing a dominatrix.

There were some truths in there, not all of which we will ever know, as the interplay between role and reality was clever and vague, but we can guess at many them and still come to the same end conclusion.

I look forward to watching this again in the future and seeing if I can work any more of it out.

In a world that makes you feel fragile and brittle, you get your kicks from being ridiculed, belittled, cleaning round the toilet stem, while your taunter does condemn, as they wait for you to conjure, your remittal. It plays out to a strict script but then a tangent, as it seems you've come across a steeper descent, smoke and mirrors might explain, is this for real or just a game, just who's genuinely showing, their lament. All in all it's quite a curious entangle, although dependant on your perspective and angle, the dialogue creates, a connection, of love and hate, where two people force themselves right through the mangle.

Nice actor showcase film. Both performed well, with Margaret showcasing her depth as a "screen takeover" actor. A rare thing to be seen. She fully dominates the role (both literally and figuratively).

It's an up and down ride of domination and submission, game or no game. Freedom or going with the narratives you're assigned in life.

It's also a love story of sorts, maybe not the healthiest, but that's how it goes sometimes in life. The acting really saves the issues with the overall dynamic and plot I had, and some unbearable scenes (the music/yelling scene I had to mute).

Overall it's a claustrophobic actor showcase film with only 2 characters. I found it engaging and packed with tension and great acting. 6.8/10.

A sensually dominant vibrance paired with a comedically dark spotlight on the societal flaws that we've created for gender roles. Margaret Qualley is an absolute movie star, showcasing a performance with utter confidence in her range and complete control with her emotions. Her chemistry with Christopher Abbott is sharp and timely with a specific whit that is admirable yet terrifying at times with purposeful misdirection. The environment is predominantly stationary, only ever expanding between a couple rooms and a hallway within a hotel, but the pacing remains tense and the score seeps in desperately for a deeply fascinating experience. An ambiguous introduction that is properly complemented by a satisfying conclusion.