Sanctuary

An oddly gripping battle of wits with some stellar performances from Abbott and Qualley, Sanctuary is a dialogue forward, claustrophobic thriller that is equal parts frantic as it is conniving. Qualley is completely transformative here, I've never seen her this confident and striking. Strangely romantic, exploring many questions like gender roles, power dynamics, ascension and expectation, destiny etc; Sanctuary really is a melting pot of genres and ideas, and it looks great too. Flat colours and contrasty outfits make this a feast for the eyes (especially that shot of Qualley with the light reflecting off her jaw line). It fits Neons "New A24" role in the industry to a T.

***Sanctuary*** is something along the lines of a rom-com psychological-drama erotic-thriller. Dialogue and character driven all the way. It reminded me a lot of last year's *Good Luck to You, Leo Grande*. Excellent character study and relationship/power dynamics. You're never really sure if they're playing the script or improvising. There's sooo many conversational back and forths and twists and turns, it's pretty much a cat and mouse game. It does get redundant and unbelievable in the second half but it still kept me invested. It's not afraid of taking risks, the way it totally releases the tension in the first act but then manages to pick back up again on several occasions is commendable. The dialogue is mostly stagey, over-the-top (nobody talks like that) but it reflects the whole premise of this movie: it's a façade and breaking it is the whole point. The performances are excellent but Margaret Qualley blew me away, she was given more playing ground to showcase her skills than Christopher Abbott though. Every movement and object has a crisp sound, energetic score, claustrophobic set and the colors really pop. Unpredictable from beginning to end and perfect ending! First watch: 7/10 Second watch: 8/10