Sanctuary

"His game. Her rules."

2023 1h 36m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 269

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Confined to a claustrophobic hotel room, the heir to a hotel empire and the dominatrix who has primed him for success become locked in a battle of wits and wills as he tries to end his relationship with her.

“His game. Her rules.”

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Cast

Margaret Qualley
Rebecca Marin
Christopher Abbott
Hal Porterfield
Danita Battle
Hal's Mother
Rene Calvo
Younger Phil Porterfield
Christian Casatelli
Young Hal
Dominick Defilips
Older Phil Porterfield

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Zachary Wigon
Writers: Micah Bloomberg
Languages: English
Countries: France, United States of America, Russia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, United States of America, Russia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Zachary Wigon, shot by Ludovica Isidori. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ariel Marx. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kate Brokaw shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott and Danita Battle carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "His game. Her rules.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt15364972 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Zachary Wigon directs. Ludovica Isidori behind the camera. Ariel Marx scores. Kate Brokaw cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, United States of America, Russia. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2International production across 3 countries: France, United States of America, Russia.
3Directed by Zachary Wigon, shot by Ludovica Isidori. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ariel Marx. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kate Brokaw shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott and Danita Battle carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "His game. Her rules.".
8IMDB entry: tt15364972 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "hotel", "eroticism", "denver, colorado", "dark comedy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ludovica Isidori
Original score: Ariel Marx
Editing: Kate Brokaw
Production design: Jason Singleton
Costume design: Mirren Gordon-Crozier
Makeup / hair: Mary Chipman
VFX supervisor: Johnathan Dorfman
Sound: Craig Mann
Stunt coordinator: Declan Mulvey
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $581,423
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Sanctuary (2023)

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Zachary Wigon

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots2023-08-04
★ 4/10
A dominatrix and her wealthy client engage in the most elaborate power struggle during one night in a luxury hotel suite in “Sanctuary,” director Zachary Wigon’s twisted psychological love story / thriller. The film’s tone is uneven and inconsistent and the direction is lacking, but the two lead performances are terrific. Hal (Christopher Abbott) is the heir to a major company and will soon be taking over as CEO, which means it’s time to cut ties with the longstanding professional relationship he’s had with a dominatrix, Rebecca (Margaret Qualley). When he tries to break it off with an expensive goodbye gift, she’s not having any of it. This leads to a wild night of sexual game playing and psychological torture, as the power shifts and sexual dynamics converge in a tornado of chaos. As a viewer, this constant back and forth makes the film extremely frustrating. By the very definition of her profession, Rebecca is a person who holds and exerts all the power over her client. The twist here is that Hal also has a significant amount of power. They both are master manipulators and can control each other on a whim. This aspect of the film becomes more irritating than compelling, especially when it’s impossible to tell who’s telling the truth at any given time. It’s one big charade. Hal doesn’t think much of himself, as it is made evident in the elaborate, belittling scripts he writes for Rebecca to recite, word for word. She knows he has daddy issues and plays to his weaknesses. His power over her is all about the money. The story loses its edge when Rebecca engages in a bit of blackmail, exposing an unfortunate pettiness from which her character never recovers. There are some sophisticated ideas about gender and capitalism at play, but they’re drowned out by situations that feel like they were solely added to the screenplay to push buttons or at least garner some uncomfortable, cringey laughter. What begins as a feminist-leaning story transforms into one that’s more off-putting and problematic. When a film has a cast of just two actors, they better be strong enough to support the material. Thankfully, that’s not a problem here. These are two complex characters, and Qualley and Abbott skillfully embody them. She plays Rebecca as an unconventional therapist of sorts, and he is believable as a broken man with a poor self image. The dominatrix thriller genre isn’t huge, and “Sanctuary” is well acted and provocative. I found the filmmaking to be amateurish and disappointing however, and this project is unlikely to find a large audience. It’s a festival film and nothing more.

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