11 Oct Stars At Noon Review

STARS AT NOON

dir. Claire Denis, starring Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, and Bennie Safdie

Stars At Noon, the latest release from popular distribution company A24 pairs Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn as strangers who find each other amidst the pandemic era present day. Trish (Qualley) is an American journalist stranded in Nicaragua who falls for Daniel (Alwyn), an Englishman that Trish sees as a possible way to escape the country. Daniel’s mysterious past and reticence to divulge any personal information is one of the film’s key elements as Trish and Daniel work to evade corrupt government officials and untrustworthy law enforcement.

If the purpose of the movie is to shed light and bring awareness to America’s ceaseless meddling in the affairs of other countries for its own gain, the concept is, at best, merely hinted at. Both Daniel and Trish are stymied multiple times by those with a modicum of power, and in the film’s first act it’s repeatedly mentioned in passing that the source of the internal corruption is largely due to external influences. While that may make for a far better story in navigating these unseen forces, instead what we’re presented with is a rambling, uninteresting tale of a couple trying to escape by having copious amounts of sex and drinking barrels of rum.

Laughably bad, Stars At Noon contains a plethora of eye rollers, cringeworthy lines, and downright unbelievable dialogue between characters. The pacing of the movie is also a point of contention; the film excels at introducing its two lead characters quickly: Trish is a bit of a drifter, desperate to make it out of Nicaragua and Daniel is an agent of chaos in some form or another. After that initial establishment and meeting of the two is where the film falls apart; Trish’s third act of meandering around the country in search of help is mirrored by Daniel’s decision to hide out in a flophouse. In both cases, the story grinds to a halt while these events occur and that lack of narrative thrust, compiled with the lackluster script, stops the movie dead in its tracks.

Starring Margret Qualley and Joe Alwyn, Stars At Noon shows both actors giving it their best try. We’ve seen great performances from both: one only need look at the manic energy and charm Qualley brought to Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Alwyn’s turn in The Favorite and Mary Queen of Scots show that they’re capable of delivering the goods. Here in this film, however, both fall short of the mark, woefully underserved by an uninspired script that gives neither any real material to work with. Qualley is game to give it a try while Alwyn mumbles through his lines while hitting his marks in the blocking and attempting to emote. The pair lack any sort of real chemistry together, making the romantic part of this romantic thriller completely null and void. The only person who appears to be having any sort of fun is Benny Safdie, who’s appearance around halfway through the film marks a change in tone for the movie, ramping it up from languid to merely dull.

Directed by Claire Denis, who’s last English language film was High Life also distributed by A24, Stars At Noon shows flashes of directorial brilliance but often marred by head-scratching camera choices and unnecessary scene filler. By far the most egregious offender comes in the form of the screenplay, written by Denis, Léa Mysius, and Andrew Litvack. While Denis’ direction at time is enough to cover for the weak script and plodding story, these weaknesses are at the forefront of the entire project, turning a possibly interesting game of cat and mouse into nothing more than a cat feebly swiping at a familiar toy before idling past it.

Overall, Stars at Noon is neither romantic nor a thriller. A mostly inert film filled with shoddy acting, suspect direction, and a lackluster story makes for an interminable watch; every second of its 137 minute runtime is felt. Far from Margaret Qualley’s best performance, a lifeless turn from Joe Alwyn, and a puzzling one scene appearance by John C. Reilly makes me question why anyone signed on to be in this movie. If there’s an audience for this movie, I’m hard pressed to figure out exactly who that audience is. A mess of a film that frustratingly has seeds of a worthwhile idea, Stars At Noon hits theaters and on demand on October 14th with a Hulu release date of October 28th.

Review by Darryl Mansel