Sanctuary

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Sanctuary.  I really enjoyed this psychological thriller until the ending derailed it for me.  Hal (Christopher Abbott) is the presumptive heir to a billion dollar chain of luxury hotels.  He likes to engage in BDSM role-playing games with a professional dominatrix named Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) but, after inheriting his father's empire, he tries to end their relationship because he feels it is no longer appropriate for such a high profile businessman. She feels that her services are what has given him the self-confidence to be a CEO and wants further compensation. They engage in a tense (but thoroughly entertaining) battle of wills in a hotel suite after one of their games in which they each vie for control with escalating stakes.  What makes this so compelling is that you never know if what is happening is real or just part of an elaborate game.  Rebecca first enters the hotel suite as a businesswoman and begins interviewing Hal for the position of CEO but then he complains that she is not sticking to the script that he wrote.  She proceeds to humiliate him because she believes that she knows what he needs better than he does.  Then a close-up of the script reveals that the entire encounter has been part of the game and this is only the first of many times that expectations are subverted.  You are literally left guessing until the final scene but, unfortunately, I found the resolution to be hurried and anticlimactic (several people in my audience groaned out loud).  The action takes place in one location with only two characters but the production design is incredibly stylish with compelling performances from both Abbott and Qualley.  Ultimately, I had a great time trying to figure out who would emerge victorious (even if I didn’t like the answer) so I would recommend it for a bit of escapist fun.