NYFF: Margaret Qualley anchors ‘Stars at Noon’ from Claire Denis
At the NYFF introduction of Stars at Noon, the most recent work by Claire Denis, it was noted that the acclaimed auteur doesn’t have a consistent style or preferred genre in her filmmaking. Recent works like High Life and Let the Sunshine In, both of which screened at NYFF and featured her frequent collaborator Juliette Binoche, are not at all indicative of her two 2022 films (the other is Both Sides of the Blade). Stars at Noon is another about face. It's a romance mired in political mystery, a puzzle that never truly feels like it needs to be solved.
Stars at Noon is based on the 1986 book by Denis Johnson that's set during the then-recent Nicaraguan War. Denis has updated the material to the present, and centered it on Trish (Margaret Qualley), an American journalist who has clearly outstayed her welcome and is struggling to find the big story that will get her back on track...