An American prostitute who is maybe also a journalist is stuck in South America where she encounters an Englishman who is sexy but shady and they drink lots of rum and have plenty of sex in "Stars at Noon," a kind of formless drama that refuses to go anywhere satisfying or interesting and is in no particular hurry to get there.
Margaret Qualley plays Trish, the American and Joe Alwyn is Daniel, the Brit, and their attraction toward one another is pointed and immediate. Their pasts don't really matter; if they did, they'd be mentioned. ("Here, there and yonder" is what she answers when she's asked where she's from.) Their present is rather confounding as well: a significant amount of time goes by before we even learn they're in Nicaragua, and even longer to find out what their intentions are or why they're there.
He's married back home, but that's hardly of interest. She's vaguely trying to leave the country, but nothing becomes pressing until authorities express interest in apprehending him, and he's forced out of his posh hotel and into her cheap motel, where the air is thick and unconditioned. More sex. More rum. Few answers.
Those pesky whos, whats, wheres and whys, the basic elements of storytelling, are of no concern to director Claire Denis, the French master filmmaker whose style is deeply divisive and here leaves viewers in the lurch. What are we to make of these two? What are their goals, dreams, ambitions? How does this story fit into the context of the larger world around them? Questions, all great to ask, though their answers prove elusive.
There's a theme here of colonialism as embodied by the two leads, who bring their problems and their privilege to this foreign land and skulk around like they own the joint, dragging everyone else into their drama. But it's hardly enough to sustain more than two hours of runtime, even though Qualley's performance, and her character's mix of world-weariness and innocence, is never less than captivating.
There are definitely, at one point, stars at noon that are visible on screen, that much you can take to the bank. Everything else is this drifting story is here, there and yonder.
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'STARS AT NOON'
(In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
Grade: C-
MPAA rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, language and some violence)
Running time: 2:16
How to watch: Now in theaters and streaming on Hulu Oct. 28
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