Cannes Review: Claire Denis’ ‘Stars At Noon’
deadline.comGiven the combustible subject matter and the director’s reputation, French auteur Claire Denis has made a remarkably listless and unpersuasive film in Stars at Noon.
Set during the Nicaraguan Sandanista revolution circa 1984, this adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novel published two years later centers on a couple of Americans of dubious character who misspend time in Central America before finally deciding it’s time to split when, in fact, it might be too late.
This is the sort of misfire that, just because it comes from a hallowed French auteur, sometimes gets programmed in the Cannes competition even when it manifestly doesn’t deserve to be there.The best scenes, even though they’re a bit confusing, come at the beginning, as saucy young American alleged journalist Trish (Margaret Qualley) has it off with a local politico with whom she has some sort of tit-for-tat arrangement.
Trish is more than a tad dissolute and appears to have little going for her other than her looks; she’s never actually seen pursuing a story or writing anything.
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