Movie Review Stars at Noon

Stars at Noon (2022) 

Directed by Claire Denis

Written by Claire Denis, Lea Mysius, Andrew Litvack 

Starring Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie 

Release Date October 14th, 2022 

Published ? 

In the hands of any other director, Stars at Noon would be a taught, fraught, political-spy thriller filled with car chases, action, and excitement. In the hands of Claire Denis however, Stars at Noon is languid, sexy, dripping with sweat, and far from anything you would expect from  spy thriller. The film stars Margaret Qualley as a wannabe journalist caught up in the political unrest of Central America. Joe Alwyn co-stars as the ostensible spy in this spy story, an Englishman caught between American and Central American interests. 

The film begins with our protagonist referred to only as Journalist. We eventually hear her called Ms. Johnson but that's merely an indication of Denis' disinterest such mundane matters as peoples names. Identity is less important than getting to what is more interesting to Claire Denis, the politics of sex, the sexual marketplace, and the place her female characters occupy in that odd marketplace. In this case, Qualley's journalist has been placed in a unique position. 

After having written an article critical of the regime in charge, the Journalist has had her passport taken away and her journalistic credentials revoked. This places her at the whim of men who might be able to help her in exchange for her body. That's the case with a local official who took her passport and broke her phone and still demands sex from her. That would be the case for another high ranking official were he not impotent, though his willingness to help her is now waning. 

The journalist's relationship to the English spy also begins in a transactional fashion. The pair meet at a hotel bar. The spy mistakes the journalist for a sex worker and, being desperate for American currency, she doesn't disabuse him of this notion. She needs money to try and get back to the United States, a task that gets ever more difficult as the story progresses. The hook up with the spy initially seems like a one off but when she finds herself in even deeper trouble she seeks him out again only to find that he may be in even more trouble than she is. 

My telling of the plot is actually more concise than Denis' presentation. For Denis, the book on which this script is based is a hanger from which she can explore other ideas, visual and sexual ideas, power dynamics, and other things that capture her fleeting interests. Yes, there is ostensibly a thriller plot unfolding with our protagonists attempting to flee from the corrupt elements of government attempting to arrest the spy. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots (2018) 

Directed by Josie Rourke 

Written by Beau Willimon 

Starring Saorise Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, Guy Pearce

Release Date December 7th, 2018 

Published December 6th, 2018

Mary Queen of Scots is a handsome but mostly forgettable mid-centuries soap opera starring two of our finest working actresses. Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie are incredible performers but there isn’t anything in Mary Queen of Scots that rises to the level of their talents. The film is not bad because Ronan and Robbie are too good for it to be bad but the story is far too thin and the film loses steam quickly given the amount of juice this story appears to have on the surface.

Mary Stuart (Ronan) is a fascinating historical figure. At a very young age, though she was heir to the throne of Scotland, she was forced to flee to France. While there, she married the French King but did not become Queen by marriage, she was 5 at the time she was promised to the 4 year old future King. When the King died young, Mary fled back to Scotland where she was welcomed back as Queen by her brother, the Earl of Moray.

Mary’s return was not welcomed by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie). Ever suspicious, the Queen of England kept a distance from Mary that was as strategic as it was out of fear. The Elizabeth of Mary Queen of Scots appears concerned that Mary’s beauty eclipses her own and that any invitation for comparison between the two could lead to a confrontation over her legitimacy as Queen.

The flames between Mary and Queen Elizabeth were further heated by the growing tension between the Protestants and Catholics. Mary, being a proud Catholic and Elizabeth, a Protestant, each had factions to serve and keep at bay from religious leaders and members of their respective courts. The two maintained correspondence with Elizabeth acknowledging Mary’s desire to ascend to the throne if Elizabeth died but the succession discussion was as political as it was about whom God ordained as royalty.

Eventually, the two would come into more direct conflict when Mary rejected Elizabeth’s suggestion that she marry the Protestant Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, ineffectually portrayed by Joe Alwyn. Mary took things a step further by marrying Catholic and English subject, Lord Darnley, her cousin. That Mary proceeded with the marriage to a family member and English subject without the Queen’s permission was a significant slight.

Eventually, it would be the Protestant and Catholic factions that would be Mary’s undoing but not before we get a baby, a pair of murders, and a rape and finally a beheading. There is a whole lot of drama packed into Mary Queen of Scots but it doesn’t land because, though Mary and Elizabeth are deeply compelling, the men surrounding them wither in comparison. Schemers, toadies, and sycophants, the men of Mary Queen of Scots do little to deepen the drama of Mary Queen of Scots.

The script repeats the same beats in Mary’s life over and over again. She rises to power, she is challenged by a man and defeats him. She rises again, is challenged by a man and out maneuvers him until finally, her luck runs out. The timeline is confusing as well as we jump ahead months and sometimes years at a time with only a few minor visual cues to indicate such a change.

As I mentioned, the production of Mary Queen of Scots is handsome. The costumes look authentic and lavish, the hair and makeup are gorgeous even as they push the bounds of believability for the period, and the sets have a lived-in and worn down quality that suits the period. I have no issues with the presentation of Mary Queen of Scots, I just wish the story had been as involving as the set dressing.

As it is, Mary Queen of Scots is something of a pot boiler but a trifle of one. The film pretends toward seedy exposes and serious costume drama and never settles on which tone it prefers. A love scene between Mary and Lord Darnley prior to their marriage is intended as a moment of sexy excess but comes across as needless and awkward in execution. Rarely is the sex in Mary Queen of Scots anything necessary or titillating, it’s either uncomfortable, criminal or merely problematic.

So if the film isn’t sexy and it isn’t serious enough to rise to the level of the great costume dramas of the past, then just what is Mary Queen of Scots? At its very least, it is a fine showcase for Ronan and Robbie who bite down on their roles with gusto. If the script were better, the male characters more well-rounded as either foes or allies, and if the film’s shifting in time narrative were cleaner and clearer, perhaps Mary Queen of Scots would work. As it is, it’s messy and narratively unsatisfying despite the stars.