Sex is war, and it is also a venue for obscene and cutthroat competition. ShelterFrom critic-turned-filmmaker Zachary Wigon’s fiery comedy thriller that hit the Toronto International Film Festival last fall and is now set to warm screens from May 19.
Set over an evening in a luxury suite, Wigon’s second film is about Hal (Christopher Abbott), heir to his late father’s hotel empire, and Rebecca (Margaret Qualley), who arrives at his door posing as a corporate ambassador. Conducting a screening interview prior to Hal’s takeover.
But what soon became clear is that Rebecca is unsuitable; rather, it’s Hal’s favorite dominatrix, who is there to reenact one of their pre-planned encounters. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these two, however, as Wigon slowly peels off the layers of their protagonists to reveal a twisted relationship that is equal parts hostile, erotic, and loving.
Scene by scene, moment by moment, insult to insult, Shelter a film that continually surprises its audience, and its unpredictability goes all the way to Micah Bloomberg’s rugged script and Wigon’s masterful choreography, while its power is purely from Qualley and Abbott; their harmony, alternately playful and prickly beauty.
Determined to fight for power, wealth, and status, as individuals on opposing sides of privilege divide, the actors – whether demeaning, scolding, or flattering – prove to be an extremely passionate couple, their chemistry being helpless and compassionate as well as hostile. . Playing characters whose motivations are never entirely clear, Qualley and Abbott form a fascinating duo, infusing Wigon’s two-faced character with the playful action of a frenetic comedy and the sharp scum of a David Mamet drama.
Shelter Proof that Wigon is a rising talent to watch, and that Qualley and Abbott are two of Hollywood’s most agile and attractive young stars. At the height of the film’s theatrical salute, we talked to both of them about maintaining the uniquely unbalanced dynamics of their protagonists, the sexiness of keeping real sex to a minimum, the tameness of modern Hollywood, and compassionate humor amid growing psychosexual horror.
When you’re both signed in ShelterDid you have any concerns about chemistry problems? Because if you don’t share the sparks in a movie like this, everything won’t work.
Abbot: Also, if you don’t have chemistry, it’s not fun to work with. It’s not fun to do, even outside of the final product of the movie. But Margaret and I already knew each other and wanted to find something to work on together, and this movie was the perfect script and opportunity to do that. Margaret was already hooked and directors Margaret and Zach brought it to me and I read it right away and said yes straight away.
We hadn’t really worked together yet, but we knew there would be the right level of chemistry with each other.
Qualley: I’ve been wanting to work with Chris for a while, and when I read the book, it seemed like the perfect thing to do with him. He was by far Zach’s first choice, so it came together very quickly.
Have you rehearsed beforehand to develop this chemistry?
Qualley: We didn’t rehearse much. I think we read the script once at Chris’s apartment and once at my apartment. Then we prepared on our own and basically learned the script from start to finish, just like a game, before it even started. We shot the whole movie in 18 days and we only had one-day weekends, so when we started it was really like a marathon. It was nice to be able to feel really comfortable with the language so we could just play that day. My favorite thing to do in life is to talk to people, to have conversations and to listen to people. [Chris] He’s the most fascinating person to listen to, so he really made my job easier.
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty
Abbot: Also, Zach had such a special way that he wanted to shoot and choreograph these scenes, and we knew he was going to get into it. For Margaret and me academically, our job is simply to know the lines so we can choreograph the scenes in terms of working and being together with each other, but we can also work hard with the camera and its movements. ludovica [Isidori]who shot it, did it very cleverly. The camera is always like a third character with us.
How does this process go, where you have to learn to work not only with each other, but also with Zach’s meticulous staging?
Qualley: Some directors shoot too much and give themselves options in editing and don’t know exactly what the movie is until they do the editing, and that was definitely not the case for Zach. It was sort of edited on arrival, in the sense that most of the scenes had very little coverage; maybe a shot or two at the most. As Chris said, it was perfectly choreographed.
But oddly enough, eliminating all options and being so precise and specific gives you a whole different kind of freedom, you know? Because you know where you stand, you know when to walk, you know what you are saying, and you know the camera is here when your head is looking at this point. It’s so meticulously edited that all you have to worry about is how you say things. You may be hyper-vigilant and hyper-aware of one another.
Before that, Zachary had only one trait in his name. What was it about him that made you confident about signing for the movie?
Abbot: I think that’s the way he talks about her. It was very clear from the beginning when we met and talked about it. His ideas of how he wanted to shoot and what exactly he wanted to do already seemed elaborate. And the product of what we did was what he said he planned to do. He’s also a movie buff who’s seen a lot of movies, and that’s always a big deal.
I’ve done the first and second traits of many people, and that’s usually the measure. I love Zach’s first movie, but sometimes you have to give someone who has just made one movie the benefit of the doubt, because they have budget constraints and they probably had things to fight about. Sometimes you have to pick and see certain things in someone’s first movie to know what they can do next and how they will evolve. Zach had it all.
Qualley: I also think it has to do with how much someone likes movies. I know Quentin Tarantino said something like, if you love cinema as much as he does, it’s impossible to make a bad movie. Zach absolutely loves movies and is very passionate and it’s reassuring when it’s their whole life.
Shelter it’s about partially sexualized role-playing and sticking to/going out of the script. Do you see it as a movie about filmmaking and more specifically acting – or have you talked about it?
Qualley: I always talk in the press rather than do something about such concepts and themes. [laughs]. Intellectualizing the movie with you and understanding or examining what it means to you. But in reality I am not there.
Abbot: The acting part – these characters playing the part themselves – was just fun to play with the levels of how good actors they were in the context of the roles they played. I think there’s a lot of room for comedy in moments like this, when both the audience and the characters are aware that they’re playing a role. There are a lot of layers there.
Was it important to keep the humor (brutal, hostile, sarcastic) central to the action in the movie?
Qualley: I hope everything I do is somehow funny; Otherwise, what’s the point of anything? [laughs] But I think Chris really does the heavy lifting there in terms of comic relief in the movie. I’m just so serious that it hurts.
Abbot: But I think what’s funnier is that you’re serious about it. Writing sort of deals with that, as long as you take it seriously. I think any scene in this movie can be laughed at or laughed at. So of course we had it in mind. But you can’t play this. You can’t necessarily play comedy. It will be funnier if you just commit.
Was it part of the appeal that the movie was so sexual and sometimes so dirty in terms of conversation and plot, and yet contained no explicit nudity and relatively little physical contact?
Qualley: I think this is always much hotter. Kissing is almost at its hottest.
Abbot: There is much left open to the imagination for the audience as well. I think whatever the move is, it doesn’t have to go down that path. To tame, not tame. Just for this genre, I think the movie is a romantic comedy, right? It’s more than just a sexy ’90s thriller. It has these elements in it so you can play with the genre that way for the audience. But I think it’s a romantic comedy after all.
The movie is extremely hot and comes at a time when there is a lot of talk, at least online, about the lack of on-screen sex. Now that you’ve both made erotica films recently – Margaret and noon starswith Christopher piercing—do you think you are particularly interested in such projects – perhaps because there are so few projects today?
Abbot: I always like movies that are a little more challenging. That’s a very broad generalization, but yes, lately, especially in American cinema, you can cover things up as a little more puritanical. There are instances where this is obviously not the case, but in general things feel a little more timid this way. And this movie isn’t like that either. But I like movies that go that way. Not to be opposed; I find it easy to overlook real human behavior, real identity, and real human spirit without the darker stuff. But he doesn’t do it just for the sake of it. There must be a good reason.
Shelter it is now receiving wide viewing, which is relatively unusual for a smaller adult film. Are you sure such films can still exist in today’s landscape and is that one of the reasons for making them?
Qualley: I feel like I’ve never thought this far ahead. I want to do it more, wow, that was great! I take my decisions from there. Then if people see it, that’s great. And if they don’t, I hope I had fun!
Abbot: But it’s even more of a reason to make movies like this.
Qualley: Yes.
Abbot: No scarier as they may not be visible; Even more reasons to skip. And it’s completely out of your control. We’re at a time when we’re already overstuffed with tons of stuff, so – for lack of a better term – when you get the opportunity to make a “smaller movie” like this and it will be shot, why not skip it?
Did you watch a particular movie to get ready? Shelter? Or does that hinder your preparation?
Qualley: I don’t have strict rules for myself, but I remember Zach talking about it. Daughter Friday as a good movie to watch, to impress the language. I thought it was a fun reference.
Abbot: I haven’t watched anything in preparation for this but I’ve watched a lot of movies so by nature there are other references as well just because I know the tone. Subconsciously, I probably steal it from other movies I’ve watched, whether it’s a tone or a genre. But I’m not trying to do it consciously. There are many Korean movies that come to mind when this movie is mentioned, especially its visual elements—like Servant. There’s that, and then there’s the crazy comedy, as Margaret said. For me it’s a weird remix of the two.
Like you said, Christopher, we’re all oversaturated these days, including television, as you both do. Do you feel compelled to stick with one or the other, or is it simply about which projects become available?
Qualley: It’s about how things turn out and who wants me to be in their business. [laughs]. Who is hiring me!
Abbot: I like going to the movies, so I always feel like I’m going to the movies in some way, as a choice. But it all depends on the role, the story and who is directing it. I’m not afraid of television at all. But I love the act of going to the movies. If I can do more than that to go and see myself in it, then I will.
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