Power Tripping

Movies: Sanctuary

Spoiler warning for the entire post

I was in New York City recently, taking a fun trip with my friend, and during a rainy afternoon we decided to see a movie. We specifically wanted to see a movie that was only playing in New York and when I saw that Sanctuary was playing--a movie about a dominatrix and her client facing off in some tense way in a hotel room--I was like "this is the movie we have to see".

My friend was skeptical when some previews for horror movies played before the movie. She was like "Jenny, is this a horror movie?" and I was like "I don't...think so??" But I think that built some tension in our minds before the movie even began. 

Sanctuary is directed by Zachary Wigon, who is very new to directing, and it's based on the screenplay by Micah Bloomberg (not to be confused with *Michael* Bloomberg). It stars Christopher Abbott, whose breakout role was playing Charlie Dattalo in the show Girls and has been taking some incredibly interesting film roles since then (this is his second role as the client of a dominatrix!). Abbott plays Hal, a very wealthy 30-something guy who is heir to a hotel empire. His father just died, leaving everything to him. But Hal isn't the man his father wanted him to be. Sanctuary gives off big Succession vibes with a Mean, Rich Daddy hovering in the back of the main character's mind at all times. Hal's father wrote a book explaining that there are two types of people in this world: people who win, and people who don't.

Hal desperately wants to be a person who wins, but he is not. 

Margaret Qualley, a supremely talented young actress, plays Rebecca. The movie opens with a scene between Rebecca and Hal that ends with Rebecca in a power suit, sitting in a chair with her legs open in a total bitch boss stance while Hal cleans the (already clean) hotel bathroom on his hands and knees in his underwear. Rebecca at first tells Hal he's garbage, but then amends this to say that he's actually less than garbage: he is nothing. "You don't even take up space" Rebecca cruelly purrs into Hal's ear as he masturbates at the end of their scene.

But the next scene of the movie shows Hal and Rebecca eating luxurious room service food and talking about what a great BDSM scene that was. The audience realizes that these two have a relationship. It might be a customer/service provider relationship, but they appear to have real affection for one another and enjoy each other's company outside of the bedroom--err..the bathroom, that is.

So when Hal informs Rebecca--after giving her an extremely expensive watch--that they can no longer have their sessions now that Hal is the head of the hotel conglomerate, Rebecca is taken aback. At first, she leaves in a huff--a sort of "well, I'll take my ball and leave" kind of way. But in the hallway, something makes her turn back. She comes back to the room and informs Hal that she's need a larger parting gift than the watch.

She explains to Hal that it is she, Rebecca, who has given Hal the confidence to run his dad's company. Before their sessions, Hal couldn't express what he wanted and Rebecca taught him to do that. You might be wondering, "wait, so by being forced to clean a toilet on his knees and being told he's garbage, Hal gained confidence!?" Yes, BDSM--like God--works in mysterious ways. I can totally buy that a weak, scared man would become a confident man with the help of a skilled sex worker*

*please note that sessions with a dominatrix is no replacement for work with a licensed therapist! They may cost roughly the same though...

So Rebecca asks for half of Hal's salary for the first year he's in charge of the company--4 million dollars. When Hal refuses, Rebecca tells him that she has videos of their sessions and that she can easily send them to the board. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game where Hal and Rebecca fight for power. 

My friend and I were both scared that Sanctuary might go in the "dead sex worker" direction. Hal even informs Rebecca that he can "make her disappear". But whenever Hal has the upper-hand, Rebecca manages to always take it back. Her demands become even greater: 4 million is not enough. She wants a position in the company. "Would it be crazy if we were co-CEOs?" she asks Hal. "Yes!!" Hal replies in exasperation.

What I loved about Sanctuary is that every time the movie would start to go in a scary direction (such as when Hal literally has Rebecca tied to a bedpost), it would always come back to something funny, playful, sexy, and even sweet. Watching the movie was like being part of a BDSM scene: I had to put my trust in the director and writer, and submit to wherever they were taking this. And they did not disappoint and led the audience to a delightful climax.

At a certain point in the movie, Rebecca reveals her cards: she has dumped her boyfriend and stopped dominating other men because she wants to dominate Hal full time. She points out how well this dynamic works for both of them--she gets to be the funny, mean woman she always dreamed she'd be and Hal gets to have the catharsis of having his worst fears about himself confirmed ("you are nothing") but then in doing so gain the confidence and self-respect he's actually looking for. But let's be real: Hal is not CEO material and both he and Rebecca know it. Hal just can't admit it to himself and admit what he really wants...

...until the very end, where he and Rebecca discuss business strategy (which Hal knows nothing about and Rebecca knows a lot more than you'd guess). Hal decides that he will buy his company back from the stakeholders because then he can put whomever he wants in charge. He convinces Rebecca that *she* should be the CEO of the hotel empire. But what will Hal do? Hal tells her that if she's going to be running a company this big, she'll need a lot of support: a clean house, meals on the table, and sex. 

Hal: "What's the name for someone who provides all that?"

Margaret: "A slave?"

Hal: "Yes! A slave! That's the job I was meant to have."

My heart was fluttering. And then when Rebecca asks what Hal will tell his mother about this crazy turn of events, Hal says "I'll say, 'This is Rebecca. We're in love. And she's in charge now.'"

They kiss in the elevator and the movie ends. THIS IS THE ROMANTIC COMEDY ENERGY I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR. 

Of course, the movie and the ending are unrealistic and ridiculous but that's because Sanctuary was a stealth romantic comedy and ALL romantic comedies are unrealistic and ridiculous...but you can't help but grin like an idiot when the two lovers overcome their obstacles and decide to be together. And while I pretty much hate all vanilla romantic comedies, I finally found one that speaks to my heart. 

My only criticism is that Sanctuary didn't spend enough time establishing the romantic connection between Hal and Rebecca. We don't know who these people are to each other, except a service provider and a person who pays for a service. So when Rebecca confesses that she wants their Dom/sub dynamic to be full time, it feels a bit out of left field. I guess part of that choice was to keep the audience on its toes. But I think if there had even been a couple more minutes of banter between Hal and Rebecca while they chill out after their scene at the beginning, it would all make a lot more sense.

Despite that criticism, I found Sanctuary to be delightful, as did my friend. We need more wholesome kink movies. And this one was both wholesome and edgy, never getting too dark and never getting too sentimental or cute. Truly a Goldilocks of an erotic-thriller-rom-com!

Grade: A-