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Set during the Nicaraguan revolution that brought Daniel Ortega to power, Denis Johnson’s 1986 novel “The Stars at Noon” spun what the New York Times called a “bleak” and “desperate” tale of two expatriate lovers. As Caryn James wrote, “What better setting for such pessimism than the political and moral morass of 1980’s Nicaragua?” Transplanted from 1984 to the present day — with Ortega still in place, along with covid restrictions and masks and corruption — A24’s noirish but not especially stylish film adaptation “Stars at Noon” centers on the relationship between American journalist Trish Johnson (Margaret Qualley) and shadowy English businessman Daniel DeHaven (Joe Alwyn). After writing an article about kidnappings and hangings that displeased the government, Trish has had her passport confiscated. It’s the only evidence that she is, in fact, a reporter, as she spends the rest of the film earning money from sex, mostly with the married Daniel, who, like his paramour, may or may not be what he says he is. He’s on the lam from a Costa Rican cop (Danny Ramirez), for unclear reasons. The story is more squalid than romantic, and Qualley’s performance is annoying. She barely even opens a laptop. When she tries to get an assignment from an American editor back home (John C. Reilly, in the world’s shortest cameo), he quickly shuts her down, in one of the film’s most satisfying scenes. The other satisfying cameo is by Benny Safdie as a strangely goofball CIA officer who’s trying to use Trish to get to Daniel. But why? The two lovebirds just want to get out of the country, but it’s hard without a passport or money and with the law on your tail. It’s also hard to make a love story about two people nobody seems to like. Unrated. Available on demand; also opening at area theaters. Available Oct. 28 on Hulu. Contains sexuality, nudity, coarse language, some violence and smoking. 135 minutes.
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