Stars at Noon is a trailer for a romantic thriller directed by Claire Denis and starring Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley. Alwyn plays Daniel, an “enigmatic Englishman,” in the new video published by A24 today. Qualley plays Trish, a “young American journalist,” who meets Daniel when she is in Nicaragua on a “charitable” mission. The preview creates a passionate and sexual atmosphere as the two embark on a chance romance. In the 1980s Nicaragua, a country fresh off revolution, mired in war, and on the eve of its first democratic elections, Trish finds herself on the receiving end of increasingly worrisome inquiries about Daniel and his business.
You can see the trailer for the film down below, and it does a great job of building suspense without revealing any of the film’s key story aspects. The high-stakes political drama and the captivating romance between the two characters leave you wanting more. This trailer for Denis’s steamy thriller has a dramatic tone evocative of older films, including John McTiernan’s 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair. Trish must decide whether to believe that Daniel is who he claims to be or to turn around and exploit him for her own ends as she continues to descend farther into the rabbit hole.
With the backdrop of war and a conspiracy in the 1980s, the connection between Qualley and Alwyn in the Stars at Noon trailer is convincing, fascinating, and potentially dangerous. The film Stars at Noon is based on the same-titled novel by Denis Johnson, published in 1986. Best renowned for her films Beau Travail, High Life, and Both Sides of the Blade, French director Claire Denis also co-wrote the screenplay for this film with American screenwriter Andrew Litvack. Fans of Top Gun: Maverick’s Danny Ramirez, who plays a Nicaraguan official in the film, may also recognise him here.
Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie, Nick Romano, and John C. Reilly all make appearances. The film took up the top prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and will also be shown during the first two weeks of October as part of the New York Film Festival 2022. There is currently no set date for the release of Stars at Noon.