'Breathlessly awful': Kristen Stewart attends Seberg premiere as critics slam new movie

Kristen Stewart walked the red carpet in Venice for a screening of her new movie, Seberg. Photo / Getty Images

Kristen Stewart is ready for a return to the Hollywood spotlight, walking the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of her new movie, Seberg.

In it, Stewart, 29, stars as real-life American actress Jean Seberg — an icon of French New Wave cinema — in the political thriller.

And while Stewart's performance has been praised, Seberg received divided reviews at the film festival.

IndieWire called it "clumsy", "scattered" and a "mess", noting it was "breathlessly awful", while Variety was more positive saying it was "compulsive viewing". The Hollywood Reporter praised it as a "sleek, pleasurably glossy thriller".

Seberg premiered at the 76th Venice Film Festival around the 40th anniversary of Jean Seberg's death. The screen icon was known for her role in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 drama Breathless and became a civil rights campaigner.

Speaking about the role, Stewart said Seberg's story was "tragic for all the right reasons" and her subject was a "compassionate humanitarian in a time when people didn't want to stomach that".

"We should definitely know her for more than the short haircut," Stewart said, referencing Seberg's famous cropped hair.

"To sacrifice something you really love for other people is a really admirable thing to see."

Seberg examines the FBI's surveillance program which targeted Seberg in the late 1960s for her association with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie).

The film co-stars Zazie Beetz, Jack O'Connell and Margaret Qualley, and is due to be released by Amazon Studios at an unspecified date.

Seberg marks the beginning of a return to form for Stewart, who also stars in the upcoming Charlie's Angels reboot, to be released in Australia in November, and Underwater, out in January 2020.

So is Stewart ready to be back in the spotlight? "I'm ready for all of it," she said.

Margaret Qualley also stars in Seberg. Photo / Getty Images

Also at the premiere in Venice was Qualley, 24, the daughter of veteran actress Andie MacDowell. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star was this week linked to comedian, Pete Davidson aka Ariana Grande's ex.

"They've been seeing each other for a couple of months and Margaret is really excited about him," a source told Us Weekly.

Qualley stars as "Cat", a member of Charles Manson's cult, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, sharing scenes with co-star Brad Pitt.