Sex and desire, obsession and belonging, violence and suspense, the human body and soul— French director Claire Denis is known for having tackled all these themes throughout her decade-spanning career. In her most recent release, Stars at Noon, Denis takes another swing at her trademarks but misses the mark completely.

The film follows spiralling young journalist Trish (Margaret Qualley), she’s left cashless and stranded in Nicaragua after trying to report on the local kidnappings and hangings. On a journey of hustling her way out of the country, she hangs around a fancy hotel bar and strikes up a conversation with an Englishman named Daniel (Joe Alwyn). He says he works for an oil conglomerate and is here on business, but what Trish sees is someone who can help her escape, or at least fund it.

Based on a 1986 novel of the same name, Denis makes the faulty decision to base her film in the present day with the pointless incorporation of COVID-19, rather than during the Nicaraguan Revolution in which the book is set in. That was only the first of many missteps the film had to offer.

The beating heart of the film is meant to be the lust and sexual tension between the two leads, Qualley and Alwyn. The audience is supposed to believe that their connection— first formed by Daniel paying Trish for sex— is strong enough to risk each other’s lives for. Qualley delivers a fiery and raw performance, as she always does, but has nothing to bounce her skills off of. Alwyn’s character Daniel was first supposed to be played by Robert Pattinson, which possibly could have saved the film (keyword there is possibly). When Pattinson dropped out, Taron Egerton was set to replace him but that ultimately fell through and thus Alwyn was cast—and he very much gives the performance of somebody who was the third choice.

There are sex scenes sprinkled throughout the runtime in place of any real plot development. I’m certainly not anti-sex in movies, but their intimacy was so devoid of chemistry that they really could’ve cut some out. Like, we get it, motel rooms are sweaty. That time may have been better spent on building on the political landscape in Nicaragua, and or hinting towards what Daniel’s motives really are.

The flat performance from Alwyn and the futile narrative luckily doesn’t write the movie off completely. Denis has a knack for hypnotic audiovisual impact and no one captures the human body quite like her, and this film confirms that. The music by her frequent collaborators Tindersticks was a high point, specifically in a scene that features their titular song ‘Stars at Noon’ in which the leads embrace on an empty dance floor, flooded by purplish hues.

A brief cameo by John C. Reilly brings verve and comedic relief to an otherwise dreary time, even if we only see him over Zoom. And if you’re considering turning it off after that, hold on a little bit because Benny Safdie will soon show up as a CIA operative undercover. His dominating on screen presence and quick wit actually play quite well opposite Qualley, if only we got to see them share the screen more. It is disappointing to have someone as regarded as Claire Denis fall short on such an anticipated release, but she is also the kind of filmmaker guaranteed to make up for it by her next project— not everything can be Beau Travail!

^{*originally published on flipscreened.com on 10/16/2022}