IMDb RATING
5.5/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
A young American journalist stranded in present-day Nicaragua falls for an enigmatic Englishman who seems like her best chance of escape. She soon realizes, however, that he may be in even g... Read allA young American journalist stranded in present-day Nicaragua falls for an enigmatic Englishman who seems like her best chance of escape. She soon realizes, however, that he may be in even greater danger than she is.A young American journalist stranded in present-day Nicaragua falls for an enigmatic Englishman who seems like her best chance of escape. She soon realizes, however, that he may be in even greater danger than she is.
- Awards
- 1 win & 5 nominations total
Featured reviews
The talented Claire Denis fails to move the plot or character fast enough to maintain your interest in this languid tale of people thrown together during times of civil conflict in Nicaragua.
This may have worked if a Soderbergh or some suchlike would have gotten hold of the story but this just meanders along.
Why is there so much of Qualley naked? I get it that she is a 'hooker with a heart of gold' but why is an American prostitute in Nicaragua during a civil war?
The problem is the pacing which doesn't drive the story along considering its an actioner about a 2 'lovers' trying to flee a war zone even though US/Nicaraguan forces conspire to stop them.
This may have worked if a Soderbergh or some suchlike would have gotten hold of the story but this just meanders along.
Why is there so much of Qualley naked? I get it that she is a 'hooker with a heart of gold' but why is an American prostitute in Nicaragua during a civil war?
The problem is the pacing which doesn't drive the story along considering its an actioner about a 2 'lovers' trying to flee a war zone even though US/Nicaraguan forces conspire to stop them.
Unlikeable characters and cast.
Possibly would have been better with different lead actors?
Script seemed poor, and situations unbelievable.
But hey, you may like it? But it wasn't for me.
Possibly would have been better with different lead actors?
Script seemed poor, and situations unbelievable.
But hey, you may like it? But it wasn't for me.
Claire Denis is a major, indeed cult-level director. Her films are always challenging and often enigmatic (as well as always full of sensuality), but" Stars at Noon" (screened at the 2022 NY Film Festival) is a little too much of all that -- enigmatic is one thing, but this one is outright flummoxing. It's a film about two people who seem to meet anecdotally (but, we soon realize, maybe not so much) in, apparently, Nicaragua (within Panama standing in for it), amid a dirty war. She's American, he's a Brit, and they instantly develop a passionate attraction (she's been turning tricks, and so their first engagement is transactional, but things go on from there). They each seem to have LOTS of secrets, which complicates their relationship (and befuddles viewers) no end, especially since these seem to be to cause a lot of bad guys coming, or at least seeming to come, after both of them, or maybe just after him, for reasons that remain frustratingly unspecified.
Claire Denis' ability to fill a screen with intensity is often here, but I was expecting a more textured expression of her lifelong engagement with the asymmetries of North-South interactions, so acutely deployed in films like "Chocolat" and "Beau travail". Perhaps because she's working in English (why?) and working in Central America instead of in the African settings in which she grew up, there is a disappointing lack of specificity here -- everything is generic and , surprisingly for this director, much of it verges on cliché. (And, just to make things even more frustrating, much of the dialogue, though in English, is indecipherable, especially that of Margaret Qualley, the high-intensity She in this She/He tale -- she slurs and garbles a lot of her lines, sounding almost like a non-native speaker with some slight but unidentifiable accent, though she's supposed to be an American -- something a native-speaker director might have been at greater pains to correct.)
In the Q&A this evening, Mme Denis emphasized how much she admired. Denis Johnson's novel, making it clear that this project had been in gestation for a long time (longer still due to all the well-known barriers to getting anything done during pandemic times). Though Johnson was dead before the screenplay was written, he is given a screen-writer credit -- Mme Denis was a pains to point out that much of the dialogue was lifted verbatim from the novel. That may be part of the problem -- she speaks reasonably good English, but she perhaps lacks the ability to spot (as surely she would in French) how wooden some of the lines are, and how unnatural much of the speech.
So, despite some trademark striking Claire Denis sequences, the applause at Alice Tully Hall was pretty perfunctory (for the film -- much more enthusiasm, deservedly, for her), and I'm guessing that, of the 1,000, more or less, people there, many, like me, left scratching their heads and wondering what that had all been about, and who was doing what (onscreen and in the opaque background) to whom, and why. Despite its Grand Prix at Cannes, this, alas, will probably not go down as a masterpiece, which, coming from her, has to be a disappointment.
Claire Denis' ability to fill a screen with intensity is often here, but I was expecting a more textured expression of her lifelong engagement with the asymmetries of North-South interactions, so acutely deployed in films like "Chocolat" and "Beau travail". Perhaps because she's working in English (why?) and working in Central America instead of in the African settings in which she grew up, there is a disappointing lack of specificity here -- everything is generic and , surprisingly for this director, much of it verges on cliché. (And, just to make things even more frustrating, much of the dialogue, though in English, is indecipherable, especially that of Margaret Qualley, the high-intensity She in this She/He tale -- she slurs and garbles a lot of her lines, sounding almost like a non-native speaker with some slight but unidentifiable accent, though she's supposed to be an American -- something a native-speaker director might have been at greater pains to correct.)
In the Q&A this evening, Mme Denis emphasized how much she admired. Denis Johnson's novel, making it clear that this project had been in gestation for a long time (longer still due to all the well-known barriers to getting anything done during pandemic times). Though Johnson was dead before the screenplay was written, he is given a screen-writer credit -- Mme Denis was a pains to point out that much of the dialogue was lifted verbatim from the novel. That may be part of the problem -- she speaks reasonably good English, but she perhaps lacks the ability to spot (as surely she would in French) how wooden some of the lines are, and how unnatural much of the speech.
So, despite some trademark striking Claire Denis sequences, the applause at Alice Tully Hall was pretty perfunctory (for the film -- much more enthusiasm, deservedly, for her), and I'm guessing that, of the 1,000, more or less, people there, many, like me, left scratching their heads and wondering what that had all been about, and who was doing what (onscreen and in the opaque background) to whom, and why. Despite its Grand Prix at Cannes, this, alas, will probably not go down as a masterpiece, which, coming from her, has to be a disappointment.
... one reviewer asks why-the-masks, as they had been in the country in 1984 and no one had been wearing Covid-masks... it's that kind of film requires some reading before-after watching for some insights
... a well-made (even if was not in 'that' country), and well-acted film.. Margaret Qualley has the MacDowell acting chops of her mom and here in this production it's hard taking eyes off her.. she shines brilliant, even covered in sweat and mud much of the time
... not an entertaining film in the normal sense watching, you just have to go with its raw qualities, feeling like you were there evidencing the happenings... not all questions get answered.
... a well-made (even if was not in 'that' country), and well-acted film.. Margaret Qualley has the MacDowell acting chops of her mom and here in this production it's hard taking eyes off her.. she shines brilliant, even covered in sweat and mud much of the time
... not an entertaining film in the normal sense watching, you just have to go with its raw qualities, feeling like you were there evidencing the happenings... not all questions get answered.
I can't understand the low imdb rating! Dont trust the bad ratings!
Beautifully crafted and perfectly and nicely put together! Stunningly beautifully cinematography! A intimate, erotic, fragile, raw, deep and thrilling story about love, escaping and conspiracy! Amazingly filmed and edited! The work with light is amazing! Gorgeous visuals!
Deserves all its nominations and awards!
Great acting which feels very authentic. Manuscript is perfect with depth.
Acting is very good!
PURE CINEMATIC ART!
Unfortunately a bit too long maybe, the last hour is a bit boring.
I totally recommend this!!!!
Beautifully crafted and perfectly and nicely put together! Stunningly beautifully cinematography! A intimate, erotic, fragile, raw, deep and thrilling story about love, escaping and conspiracy! Amazingly filmed and edited! The work with light is amazing! Gorgeous visuals!
Deserves all its nominations and awards!
Great acting which feels very authentic. Manuscript is perfect with depth.
Acting is very good!
PURE CINEMATIC ART!
Unfortunately a bit too long maybe, the last hour is a bit boring.
I totally recommend this!!!!
Did you know
- TriviaRobert Pattinson was originally cast alongside Margaret Qualley as the lead, but had to leave the project due to filming commitments for The Batman (2022) following delays of shooting due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Taron Egerton was cast as Pattinson's replacement, however he dropped out as well before filming started due to personal reasons and Joe Alwyn took the role.
- Quotes
Teen Travel Agent: Fuck is a good word. Fuck is the property of the whole world.
- How long is Stars at Noon?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $225,509
- Runtime
- 2h 15m(135 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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