Stars at Noon

Name: Stars at Noon
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Romance
Released: October 14, 2022
Duration: 135 min
Rating: 65
Cast: Ben Safdie, Danny Ramirez, Hector Moreno, Joe Alwyn, John C. Reilly

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Ratings

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5.9

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5.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Ratings

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Stars At Noon

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Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: October 14, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Ben Safdie, Danny Ramirez, Hector Moreno, Joe Alwyn, John C. Reilly, Margaret Qualley, Monica Bartholomew, Nick Romano, Robin Duran, Sebastian Donoso, Stephan Proaño

Movie Facts:

Winner of the Grand Prix (2nd place prize) at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

Summary: A young American journalist stranded in present-day Nicaragua (Margaret Qualley) falls for an enigmatic Englishman (Joe Alwyn) who seems like her best chance of escape. She soon realizes, though, that he may be in even greater danger than she is. Adapted from the Denis Johnson's novel.

Director: Claire Denis

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Romance

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 135 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Austin Considine

Oct 13, 2022

The results are sometimes wobbly, but this much remains stable: No living director better understands the politics of sensuality, the terrible power of light and shadow on skin. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Oct 11, 2022

Billed misleadingly as a “romantic thriller,” the film is neither romantic nor especially thrilling. The characters are enigmatic to the point of superficiality, the relationships largely transactional, and the action toggles between languid and frazzled over two-and-a-quarter-hours. But with some reflective distance, away from the snap judgment of festivals, Stars at Noon proves a pretty interesting film, if a sometimes confusing one. Read full review

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

May 26, 2022

Stars at Noon is at its best when it has Trish and Daniel suspended in horny limbo, with Denis building an atmosphere of sultry languor that makes the film feel as if it’s constantly stretching and circling, like a sleepy cat. Read full review

Natalia Keogan

Oct 17, 2022

The final product is visually and sonically luscious, but narratively and thematically lackluster—a frustrated misstep from a veteran artist that still deserves praise in the right places. Read full review

Mark Feeney

Oct 13, 2022

Stars at Noon trades too much on a tradition of older, maybe not better but certainly more urgent movies. Somewhere deep, deep in its heart is the memory of Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum. Read full review

Martin Tsai

Oct 14, 2022

An occasionally seductive but muddled examination of a complex physical and emotional relationship. Read full review

David Rooney

May 26, 2022

There’s almost always something interesting about even Denis’ flawed films, but this troubled travelogue just feels a little off at every fumbled step. Read full review

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User Reviews

digitaledaniel

May 8, 2023

I certainly liked the movie, it's been a while since I saw a good one that doesn't belong in genres like superhero, thriller, action movie, blockbuster and so on... In the alternative cinemas, at least in Belgium, the main characters in these movies always have a lot of problems.. They'reI certainly liked the movie, it's been a while since I saw a good one that doesn't belong in genres like superhero, thriller, action movie, blockbuster and so on... In the alternative cinemas, at least in Belgium, the main characters in these movies always have a lot of problems.. They're hard to swallow, like the whale... Not the kind of fish that slides down your throat easily. The story here is also about the conditions in a country without democracy, but it is more about two people and the mess they got into. Someone here thought the "score" was magnificent, but in fact it could hold a lot more local music, comparable to the amounts of rum consumed by the female protagonist. A lot. For me, only one song caught my interest, Stars at Noon from Tindersticks. Probably made for this movie. The setting and the DJ(!) are also a nice touch. Most of the rest of the soundtrack is horrible muzak in the elevator/hotel lobby.

And 4 other songs. One from Costa Rica (1973): Bocaraca - Tal Vez Mañana, then Bonita from Maximo Rodriguez & Sus Etrellas Paramenas, a 'hot' band, in the sixties, in Panama. And then Natalia Clarke's No Hay Amor, soul of a record called "Hidden Treasures from Panama", released in 2022... And more soul, from Portland, Oregon: she found me - Natasha Kmeto.

So absolutely nothing from Nicaragua where the movie was supposed to take place.

Why? Lazy? Snobs with an aversion to folk? Whatever the reason, it's outrageous. Fire these people.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pangipingu

Oct 22, 2022

I get that Claire Denis may have meant well, socio-politically speaking, to have adapted this story, but I'm afraid her adaptation totally falls short of doing justice to the actual text. In my opinion, the author's intention was to portray a revolution taking place via the narrative of anI get that Claire Denis may have meant well, socio-politically speaking, to have adapted this story, but I'm afraid her adaptation totally falls short of doing justice to the actual text. In my opinion, the author's intention was to portray a revolution taking place via the narrative of an affair between two characters (even unnamed, as they were that insignificant to the whole point of the book) While Denis's version recounts a tryst, with a revolution taking place in the farthest background. Despite Margaret Qualley's strong performance, the magnificent score written by Denis' long-time collaborator Tindersticks, as well as the somewhat documentary-style cinematography, the film failed at convincing me as an audience to care about either the characters or the nation acting as extras.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Oct 30, 2022

There's not much that could be considered chemistry between its two leads, plus you have to struggle a bit with the tedium of moving forward in a story that doesn't seem interested in getting anywhere, at least not anywhere that feels relevant.
In addition to the fact that its length is moreThere's not much that could be considered chemistry between its two leads, plus you have to struggle a bit with the tedium of moving forward in a story that doesn't seem interested in getting anywhere, at least not anywhere that feels relevant.
In addition to the fact that its length is more than excessive.

I just couldn't connect with this story.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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