Your first look at Margaret Qualley in the trailer for 'Stars At Noon'

WORDS Jasmine Pirovic PHOTOGRAPHY Twitter PUBLISHED Fri, 30 Sep 2022 - 2:30 pm

As a general rule of thumb, movies are always better when Margaret Qualley is involved. Throw Joe Alwyn into the mix and give a supporting role to Benny Safdie, well, that's a recipe for a good time. And that's exactly what French director Claire Denis has done for her adaptation of Denis Johnson's 1986 mystery novel, The Stars At Noon. With the Australian release date slated for November 17, A24 has just dropped the full length trailer for Stars At Noon. Find it along with the rest of the movie details, below.

What is the plot for Stars At Noon?

As mentioned, the Claire Denis-helmed thriller follows the narrative of Denis Johnson's 1986 novel; one of passion, fear and betrayal. Although her own take departs from the source material in that rather than being set in 1984, the film finds its footing in our current post-pandemic reality.

Set in Nicaragua, Denis' lens follows Margaret Qualley who plays an American journalist Trish, who is stationed in the country, as we come to learn, against her will. An alcoholic, unravelling mess, Trish meets Alwyn's mysterious, linen-suit-wearing Daniel in a bar, where the Englishman and the Yank strike up an affair.

All is not what it seems however, as each party hides what brings them to Nicaragua in the first place. Tension rises as a target is placed on Daniel's head, and Denis sets the scene for conversations about colonialism to take place. In some ways it's like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in others it closely follows the lines of Denis' earlier works like White Material.

Who else is involved?

While Qualley and Alwyn take on the lead roles of Stars At Noon, other names appear too. Danny Ramirez plays a Costa Rican Police Officer, Benny Safdie is an undercover CIA Agent and John C Reilly is an American Boss. A24 are behind the production, which always helps to bring in interest.

When will Stars At Noon premiere?

The film has already circulated at film festivals like Cannes to mixed reviews, and is slated for an Australian theatre release on November 17. Watch the trailer for the film, below.