TMS Movie Review: Stars at Noon
(Canal+ / A24)
Right in the middle of spooky season, French arthouse legend Claire Denis releases her second feature for 2022, Stars at Noon, following Both Sides of the Blade back in July. The new film is Denis’ attempt at the familiar tale of ‘good looking white pair has a steamy romance in an exotic location.’ It’s like Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca (1942) meets Garry Marshall’s Pretty Woman (1990), only with extra cynicism and not as much charm. With a cast of almost famous faces [Andie MacDowell’s daughter Margaret Qualley, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn and Benny Safdie of the filmmaking duo known as the Safdie Brothers], Stars at Noon opts for a lowkey, subtle take on underground crime in Nicaragua.
Qualley’s Trish Johnson is an American freelance journalist abroad in Managua, NI, who turns to prostitution when she is fired from a magazine position for failing to meet deadlines and runs out of money. One of her recent conquests is a mysterious English businessman, Daniel (Alwyn) visiting town for vague reasons. Rather quickly their escort origins turn into a legitimate love affair, and Trish becomes in over her head about how both she and Daniel might be being watched. Safdie and Danny Ramirez play two special agents looking for Daniel and the film is based on Denis Johnson’s 1984 novel also called Stars at Noon.
(Canal+ / A24)
While the original book took place during the Nicaraguan Revolution, Denis updates the setting to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Despite my playful nepotism comments, I actually do think the casting of Stars at Noon has potential. Safdie is proving to be just as interesting an actor as he is a filmmaker, and I dare say I might prefer Qualley’s acting than her famous mother’s. The issue I’m discovering is perhaps I’m just not a Denis fan, unfortunately. I wasn’t into her two previous films, Let the Sunshine In (2017)—where I found Juliette Binoche’s character rather unlikable—and High Life (2018), which was much too bleak for enjoyment. Here my issue is, while Qualley has a wonderful screen presence and it’s nice to see her with Andie-esque curls, Trish is borderline insufferable as a character in Stars at Noon; and it’s hard to root for her survival. Alwyn’s Daniel is also pretty forgettable, and we barely get enough of Safdie in the second half of the movie to be invested in his role.
The pacing is also incredibly, almost tediously, slow and Denis’ direction isn’t eye-catching enough to make up for Stars at Noon’s stale plot; including how we barely know or care why Daniel is a wanted man. Sadly, the sex scenes aren’t even stimulating or sexy enough to be memorable either. We’re still in the early weeks of awards season, and I can only hope the rest of the year delivers beyond the dramas we’ve gotten lately.