What a year 2022 has been for French director Claire Denis. Back in February, her film “Both Sides of the Blade” (formerly known as “Fire”) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Then in May, her romantic thriller “Stars At Noon” premiered in competition for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix award—her first entry in 34 years. Now, “Stars At Noon” hits U.S. theaters for the audience’s viewing pleasure.
Based on Denis Johnson’s 1986 novel of the same name, the film sees Margaret Qualley play a young American journalist stranded in Nicaragua. There she falls for a mysterious Englishman, played by Joe Alwyn, but as the two make plans to escape, they find themselves embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy. John C. Reilly, Benny Safdie, and Danny Ramirez star in supporting roles (read our review from Cannes here).
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Trish is a struggling reporter in Nicaragua, hoping to score a scoop she can sell to an American magazine that wants nothing to do with her. Her passport and press card have been confiscated. At night, Trish hangs around the bar of a pre-war luxury hotel amongst established reporters who snub her. For them, she’s a hooker and a lush. One night, she spots a young man, Daniel, clearly a newcomer to the tropics. She sleeps with him for 50 bucks, but in no time, passion and sexual obsession blind them to the real dangers surrounding them. Daniel has lied. He’s working for Big Oil, not an NGO. The stakes are high, and their lives are in peril.
Denis, Andrew Litvack, and Léa Mysius (who recently collaborated with Céline Sciamma and Jacques Audiard on “Paris 13th District”) share screenwriting credits on “Stars At Noon.” After working on “Both Sides Of The Blade,” Éric Gautier is the film’s cinematographer. Gautier also shot “Into the Wild” and Olivier Assayas’ “Irma Vep.”
Two films from Denis in one year is a treat for cinephiles everywhere. “Stars At Noon” hits theaters on October 14, courtesy of A24. Watch the film’s new trailer below.
