Stars at Noon (2022)

A turkey of a pretentious movie that won't fly - Stars at Noon review by Philip in Paradiso

Trish (Margaret Qualley) is a young US journalist and travel writer. She is stranded in Nicaragua during the COVID 19 pandemic, having to resort to part-time prostitution in order to survive, in the capital. The Nicaraguan authorities have confiscated her passport following articles she wrote that were critical of the Sandinista regime. Trish is at a low point when she meets Daniel, a mysterious British consultant, in one of the city's posh hotels. The story develops from there.

The film had everything to be captivating and interesting: the political backdrop (Central America, revolution, repression, etc.) and the sexual tension (including the interaction between Daniel and Trish), not to mention an exotic atmosphere. Unfortunately, the pace of the story, which is overlong, is sluggish in the extreme. Most of the time, not much happens and the dialogues between the main characters are laborious. It is as if the film director had all the right ingredients to produce a masterpiece, and she ends up serving us a tepid, dull and tasteless ready meal. The movie is full of clichés, from start to finish. It is not so much implausible as it is boring.

Claire Denis probably is vastly overrated as a film director. The film is an indigestible turkey. I recommend you avoid it.