Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Claire Denis
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, Danny
Ramirez
Graham Greene meets Zalman King in Stars at Noon, Claire Denis' (with co-writers Léa Mysius and
Andrew Litvack) adaptation of Denis Johnson's 1986 novel
of the same name. Here, the usual labyrinthine plotting of espionage
thrillers is eschewed for a character focussed genre deconstruction, not
unlike those of Robert Altman and Alan Rudolph, and it often resembles a
James Bond movie from the perspective of the "Bond girl."
Presumably for budget and convenience, Denis has transplanted the
novel's setting of the Nicaraguan civil war of the '80s to the same
country in the recent COVID era. The politics haven't changed much and
the pandemic adds an extra layer of uncertainty to a setting that serves
as a sort of limbo for its protagonists: Trish (Margaret Qualley), a young American journalist, and Daniel (Joe Alwyn), a
mysterious Englishman, both of whom are desperate to get out of the
country for their own reasons.
Having had her passport confiscated due to an article she wrote
disparaging the Nicaraguan authorities, Trish is forced to trade sex for
money and favours with various government and military figures. Her
editor (John C. Reilly, cameoing via Zoom) cuts her loose,
uninterested in her politicised writing (he does run a travel magazine
after all), leaving her struggling to get across the border to Costa
Rica, where the plight of an American might be treated more
favourably.
While drinking in a hotel she meets Daniel, who pays her $50 for a
night of sex. There seems to be something approaching a genuine
connection between the two, and Trish is reluctant to leave him the next
morning. They agree to meet again, but Trish spends the day following
Daniel, who claims to be working for an oil company but suspiciously
carries a pistol in his shaving bag. When Trish sees Daniel speaking
with a man she recognises as a Costa Rican cop (Danny Ramirez),
she confronts him. Daniel claims ignorance regarding the man's identity,
but Trish assures him that they'll be followed by him if they leave the
hotel. She's correct, as Daniel is indeed tailed.
Daniel's true motives are left ambiguous, and Alwyn plays the character
in a monotone manner that makes him difficult to read. While he's not
the most charismatic actor that might have been cast (Robert Pattinson
and Taron Egerton were both forced to pull out of the role due to
scheduling conflicts), there's something about his one-dimensional
nature that helps us to see him through the eyes of Trish, who comes to
view him as her best bet in getting out of the country. That said, it's
a little difficult to buy when Trish begins to develop genuine feelings
for this enigmatic stranger, as the requisite spark just isn't really
there.
A chase thriller that barely moves its heels off the starting line,
Stars at Noon may prove frustrating for anyone expecting
the usual beats of the espionage genre. But that's simply not what Denis
is interested in exploring here. Rather she's broken down the well-worn
premise of two attractive strangers thrown together in tumultuous
circumstances and given some thought as to how such a scenario might
actually play out in reality. During the airing of the hit TV show
24, there was a running joke about how Kiefer Sutherland's protagonist
was able to stay awake for 24 hours without ever having to use the
bathroom. That's certainly not a critique that could be levelled at
Stars at Noon, as in decidedly Gallic fashion, Denis hones in on the inconveniences
of bodily functions. Trish and Daniel are perpetually drenched in sweat
and spend much of the narrative trying to remove the stink from their
clothes and attempting to track down shampoo and towels.
A longstanding critique of movies like this is how they centre western
protagonists and ask us to worry about their safety while faceless
locals are mown down in the background, often due to helping said
westerners. It's a problem that Stars at Noon can't shake
off, but Denis isn't particularly concerned with making her protagonists
likeable; in fact Trish reacts to one local man's death with a
distasteful joke. Other supporting characters get their moments that
allow us to see the trouble Trish and Daniel are bringing upon them,
like the long-suffering clerk at Trish's rundown hotel and a lingering
shot on a man who has become collateral damage by trying to aid the
ungrateful pair.
Nor is Denis interested in the political nuances of Nicaragua, which
are so vaguely referenced here that it might as well be the sort of
fictional Central American country where the protagonists of 1980s TV
shows were always getting into trouble. Denis is more invested in the
setting as a sort of purgatory, and the empty pandemic era streets and
hotels bars greatly add to this feeling. There's a wonderfully dreamlike
scene where Trish and Daniel dance in an otherwise empty club to a song
by frequent Denis collaborators Tindersticks, whose smoky jazz score
adds to the Altman/Rudolph vibes. And this is very much a movie of vibes
rather than plot, of sensuality rather than seriousness. Watch it on a
sticky summer night for best effect.
