Stars at Noon

MOVIE #1,411 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 03.01.24 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝙻𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙸𝚂 (𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑: [selin sjama];) 𝙳𝙸𝚁𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙾𝚁 𝙵𝙾𝙲𝚄𝚂 Denis’s most recent feature film to date is notable, if only for the fact that she seems to be taking chances that she never has before (even if — on the surface — the story of a white woman in peril amidst third world chaos seems like old hat). She’s working with an entire cast of new actors for what feels like the first time ever? (including Margaret Qualley in the lead, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, and John C. Reilly who we see via Zoom for a single scene). And the narrative — based on a Denis Johnson novel (of Jesus’ Son fame) — has a quasi noir feel: never have Denis characters talked like this or been this loquacious. I appreciate her willingness to explore new modes, but I found the dialogue grating at times. Still, the slew of uninitiated (and younger) performers brings a freshness to what’s (at least structurally) a throwback to her “throw the audience into a world and let them figure it out” vibe.

And to that point: while it was initially a complaint of mine, I found myself wishing this movie was more about the vibe. Shot in Panama as a stand-in for Nicaragua, there is a sweaty ambiance permeating throughout. It’s a place you wouldn’t want to be but love to look at. Denis loves filming people in cars and we get alot of that here, as Qualley and Alwyn crisscross the landscape in cabs as they try to figure out a way home (or at least freedom from their struggles). I hesitate to ‘punch-up’ the work of any filmmaker and certainly an auteur like Denis doesn’t need my notes, but it felt like there was at least thirty minutes of fat here in the form of extraneous exposition and dialogue that could have easily been trimmed to improve the experience. I probably enjoyed this one slightly better than its 2022 counterpart, Both Sides of the Blade, but both pictures are comparatively minor works when you look at the filmography on the whole.

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Stars at Noon is a 2022 English-language French romantic thriller film directed by Claire Denis, based on the 1986 novel The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson, starring Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, Danny Ramirez, and John C. Reilly. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. It was released on May 25, 2022.