There are about five minutes in Sanctuary in which nothing really strange happens. They come right at the beginning. We see a classy blonde knocking on the door of a luxury hotel suite and then a guy opening up and inviting her in. He brings out a bottle and we wonder if there's some sort of kicky sex romp in the offing. In any other movie, maybe. But this is definitely not any other movie.
Sanctuary was shot in under three weeks in a single room, basically, and it's a perfect little film—wonderfully well-written (by Micah Bloomberg) and sleekly designed (by on-his-way-up director Zachary Wigon). And the acting—a two-hand triumph by Margaret Qualley (as Rebecca, the woman at the door) and Christopher Abbott (as Hal, the guy who lets her in)—radiates chemistry and deft humor. (Star quality, in other words.) The pleasure in watching the movie comes from navigating its crafty narrative as it ping-pongs along on a stream of ever-twisting plot permutations and sharp, slicing dialogue. The teasing uncertainty is part of the fun.
