| Super | Release Date: May 19, 2023 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
14
Mixed:
1
Negative:
2
|
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Critic Reviews
Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott make an exceptionally good team here, in a film that requires a deep sexual chemistry but keeps sex itself almost entirely out of the picture. Careening from one kind of intensity to another, the encounter excites without prurience and, like the transactions it depicts, is more concerned with psychology than sex in any case.
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The PlaylistMay 1, 2023
Wigon’s sleek, seductive drama — as contained and actor-driven as a stage play, though shot so expressively that it could only be cinema — breaks down this pairing just to build it back up from scratch, testing the viability of a connection rooted in guarded performance as it crawls on all fours toward a more open, authentic intimacy.
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ColliderSep 13, 2022
It is a character study that creeps up on you, deploying well-timed darker comedic moments that set up the cutting dramatic ones all the better. There is no pretentiousness or ego to either of the stunning performances, ensuring we are hit with the maximum impact of a maniacal masterclass of acting from Abbott and Qualley.
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SlashfilmMay 25, 2023
By focusing on the shifting dynamics between our two characters and nothing else, viewers are treated to a cat-and-mouse game where its players refuse to let up. With the infectious energy of Qualley and Abbott, along with set-altering cinematography and a tight script, there is a lot to love about this new, sick take on the sex comedy.
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The writing (by Micah Bloomberg, a creator of the 2018-20 TV series “Homecoming”) is so sharp, the acting so agile and the cinematography (by Ludovica Isidori) so inventive that what could have been a stuffy experiment in lockdown filmmaking is instead a vividly involving battle of wills.
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The Film StageMay 1, 2023
Although Sanctuary is stylish and initially intriguing, it’s eventually a real chore to spend an entire feature-length film (even with a relatively brief running time of 96 minutes) with two boors who are also kind of boring, despite all the histrionics and fang-baring and manipulative mind games. They find themselves and each other a lot more interesting than we do.
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