Art-house darling Claire Denis delivers a thriller with no thrills and a romance with no chemistry

Film | Jorge Ignacio Castillo | Oct. 13, 2022

Stars at Noon
Opens Oct. 14

For one of the world’s most celebrated filmmakers, Claire Denis sure takes risks. Her previous movie, a cryptic meditation on human evolution set in space — High Life — wasn’t my cup of tea. But there’s merit in attempting such a project in between romantic dramas starring Juliette Binoche.

Denis’ latest, Stars at Noon, represents another effort to step away from her comfort zone. But the results are less effective.

One could describe the film as a modern take on Casablanca (with considerably more sex). The “ships” passing in the night are Trish (Margaret Qualley, Maid), a wannabe journalist stranded in a heavily militarized Nicaragua; and Daniel (Joe Alwyn, The Favourite), an alleged oil executive looking for deals. Trish has to prostitute herself to get the money to leave the country. Daniel is one of her clients, until he becomes a wanted man.

As the need to escape becomes more pressing, the characters’ true colours start to show. Yet it always seems as if common sense has left the building: the twosome’s approach to fleeing is lackadaisical at best.

Denis makes several questionable decisions. The story is set at the height of the Covid pandemic, which adds little to the plot. Yet the depiction of Nicaragua is more appropriate to 1986 (when the Denis Johnson novel on which the film is based was published). After a while the obtuse dialogue and shady behaviour goes from enticing to irritating.

The biggest problem with Stars at Noon is that at no point did I buy into the whirlwind romance between Trish and Daniel, a critical cog in the mechanics of the film. While you can fake chemistry between actors, it’s nowhere to be found here. So it’s a miss for me. ■