"They are both lying": Claire Denis on creating ambiguous tension between her "Stars at Noon" lovers

Claire Denis' moody romantic thriller, "Stars at Noon," which won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year, features copious sex and shadowy politics. The film, adapted from the late Denis Johnson's 2000 novel, has Trish (Margaret Qualley), an American, posing as a journalist in present-day Nicaragua. She sidles up to the Intercontinental hotel bar to flirt with Daniel (Joe Alwyn), a British businessman working with an oil company. He takes her back to his hotel room where she has sex with him for $50 American.

Trish sees Daniel as someone who can help her get out of the country. Daniel, it turns out, needs Trish to help him navigate things as he gets involved in some shady business. (Trish identifies a man (Danny Ramirez) that Daniel meets with as a Costa Rican cop.) As the couple try to cross the border, they encounter various obstacles, including a CIA Man (Benny Safdie).

"Stars at Noon" may address topics ranging from political hegemony and influence — there is a suggestion Daniel has interests in a local election — but the film is more about creating a vibe that shifts from seductive to sinister than generating excitement. (The fabulous, jazzy soundtrack by Denis' longtime collaborators, Tindersticks, and the frequent rain adds to the low-key film's atmosphere.) Denis lets scenes percolate and simmer, using close-ups to create a real intimacy. And there is an ambiguity about the characters that keeps viewers wondering: can they be trusted? 

At the recent New York Film Festival, Denis spoke with Salon about making "Stars at Noon."

This film, like many of your films, addresses abuses of power. Can you talk about that theme in your work?

Abuse of power is what I am most of afraid of since I was a child. Being afraid all the time is my life. 

The film takes place in the COVID era, even though the novel was set in 1984. What observations do you have about the parallels between then and now in Nicaragua? 

When I read the novel, I loved it and Denis Johnson's style. I met with him and told him I would like to adapt that specific novel. He said, "This was my first novel. I was in Managua during the civil war. When I wrote it, I wanted to be a journalist, but I couldn't publish any pieces." Back in America, he wrote the book. It was a sad memory for him. I understood what he meant. So, I went to Nicaragua and Managua, and I realized it was impossible to go back to the Managua of 1984 and the time of civil war. Too many years had passed. Daniel Ortega, the president, transformed the city and so did an earthquake. To recreate a revolution like 1984 in the new Managua would not only cost a fortune but also would offend the Nicaraguan people who were part of the revolution. Then COVID came, and by the time we did the location scouting, Ortega was trying to get reelected. It had become a very dangerous place, and I could not hope to film in Nicaragua, so I had Plan B, which was Panama. 

What parallels did you find regarding American/European hegemony? The film's themes about hegemony are still timely.

It's true that oil companies all over the world [have influence] where the oil is — except in the Arabic Peninsula because they own their oil. In Nigeria, French and Dutch oil companies are pumping. It is the same with mineral and oil and everything we need and don't have we go and take. It's a very old story. In Central and South American, there is the story of gold and the Spanish there. 

Joe Alwyn in "Stars at Noon" (A24)

"Stars at Noon" is a love story of sorts and it is a political thriller. The tone shifts even though the mood remains relatively low-key. Can you talk about your approach to the material? You create a vibe that draws viewers.

A lot of that came from my meeting with Denis before he died. There was this melancholy in him. The style of his dialogue and his poetry is as if he was always missing something — as if as a writer and human being he was not sure he was getting the point exactly. There was always a sort of regret. This I understand very well because I am a little bit like that. I feel it is hard to be over-satisfied with my moves. I try to be fair, but I don't think it's easy. I'm constantly asking myself: What should I think? We are living in a world with climate change and some countries are dying with dryness, some are going under water. There are wars in Ukraine and Syria. I was born and grew up in the 20th century and I thought that the war was in the past and best was in the future. But at turn of the 21st century, we realized it's not like that. Planet earth is fragile, and it is a dangerous place.

I liked how much of the film was so intimate from the close-ups on Trish and Daniel's faces and bodies. Many scenes felt claustrophobic or isolated. Like all of your films, it is a very palpable, tactile, atmospheric film — the rain is a real character. What informs your distinctive visual style?

The rain was a very real, very tactile character in Panama. I always organize myself and with the cinematography to know exactly what we are going to do and then, as we start shooting, we know which lens to use, the format, and the location. Making a film, then, is really to enter with the character into the film with the camera and me — to intrude the space of the story. For me, that's direction.

Trish can be seen as selfish, desperate but also determined. Daniel is said to be dangerous. They are ambiguous characters, and what intrigued me is never really knowing the truth. How did you view the characters?

They are both lying. They don't want to abandon themselves to each other. That's the meaning of the dance scene. He leans into her and then — no, no, no, I shouldn't. The dance scene is the [heart] of the film; they want to abandon themselves to each other, but no. It was like that in the script — they were ambiguous. When Trish says [sleeping with Daniel is like] "f**king a cloud," it says a lot. And it says that she doesn't want him to take advantage of her. And, on the other hand, she is protecting herself from her attraction to him as much as he is attracted to her, and they fight against that. They don't want to depend on each other. They know they are lonely.

"Stars at Noon" is told mainly from Trish's perspective. I was very conscious of how Trish was presented. Likewise, I was struck by Juliette Binoche's characters in your recent films, "Both Sides of the Blade" earlier this year, and "Let the Sunshine In." What decisions do you make when you portray your female protagonists? 

I think they are as vulnerable and fragile as I am, but on the other hand, they are very strong. They are survivors. They have a fragility that could only exist if you have a strong will to exist. Otherwise, they don't want to surrender. 

You have made films in many different genres, eras, locations and topics. Each one is different, but they are all very distinctive. What is it that drives you to make a particular film and invest all the time and energy into a project?

I don't wake up and think let's go to Panama and make a film there. It's because I read Denis Johnson's novels and fell for this novel. That is why I decided to visit Nicaragua and thought adapting this novel into a film. What attracted me to the novel is maybe like in all my films, how difficult it is to be attracted to someone, and fall in love with someone, and to be afraid to fall in love, to try to resist that, to maybe feel there is a weakness in the falling. And it's dangerous. This theme is in all my films. 

How did this film, allow you to grow as a filmmaker? 

Probably the fact that I couldn't shoot in Nicaragua and had to relocate the story using Panamanian locations forced me to reconsider the script, but it did not change my relationship to the characters. I was lucky that I met Margaret when I saw Tarantino's movie. I knew that I wanted her for the film. It took a longer time to meet Joe, but I knew the film could exist in Panama or elsewhere. The film was in that space between them and that was reassuring for me. They trusted me. That was very important.

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Early in your career, you worked with Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and other filmmakers. Do you mentor filmmakers now? 

There is a young woman, Alice Diop [director of "Saint Omer"]. We are good friends, and we share our experiences. It is good example of a relationship between filmmakers like it was with me and Jim or Wim. It's a question of finding an equal in another director's work. As soon as I saw Alice Dop's short films and documentary, I knew that we had something in common. It is strange — because she is much younger that I am — and from Senegal, that we could share something with her as easily as I could with Wim. With Jim Jarmusch, it was a little bit difficult to work with him. His humor and spirit, I feel dumb next to him.

"Stars at Noon" is in theaters and on demand Oct. 14. It streams on Hulu beginning Oct. 28. Watch a trailer via YouTube.