- Director : Woody Allen
- Actors : Lou de Laâge, Niels Schneider
- Subtitles: : English
- Studio : MPI Home Video
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Media Format : Blu-ray, Subtitled
- Run time : 93 minutes
- Release date : May 21, 2024
Woody Allen has
had a long and complicated career as a filmmaker. There was a time when he was
considered one of the most prolific and significant American filmmakers, known
and recognized for his romance-heavy comedies, nearly always set in the city of
New York. But along with controversies in his personal life in recent decades,
Allen also changed his career path by leaving the United States to make movies
in Europe. This led to an initial resurgence in his career, though it has been
a decade since the filmmaker has received the level of critical praise and attention
his films were once afforded. While Coup de Chance won’t do much to change
the trajectory of Allen’s career, it will make a nice footnote in his
filmography.
Coup de
Chance opens with a seemingly perfect couple, Franny (Lou de Laâge) and
Jean (Melvil Poupaud), though Allen doesn’t take long to poke holes in this illusion.
Before giving any reasons for infidelity, Fanny has a chance encounter with a
former classmate named Alain (Niels Schneider) on the streets of Paris. Alain is
a writer living a bohemian lifestyle that contrasts the luxurious life of
wealth Fanny has since marrying Jean. It is only after she develops a
friendship with Alain that the film begins to show Jean’s shortcomings, both as
a possessive husband and as a businessman with criminal practices.
This is also where the film takes on
more of an American sensibility, despite being filmed in France with French
dialogue and actors. A French film would simply have the affair begin, but Hollywood
films more commonly feel the need to justify the morally questionable behavior.
Allen is not interested in a slice-of-life character study about a woman making
a seemingly destructive life choice, but is instead just setting the film up
for the plot twists he is clearly more interested in. By making Jean a villain,
it gives the audience something to root against, while bringing in themes that
give the title relevance.
Because of his power and wealth, in
addition to the illicit methods used to obtain them, Jean’s discovery of the
affair drastically changes the tone and direction of the narrative. What begins
as a common romantic drama quickly turns darker and more comedic, making it
clear why Allen is less concerned with making the characters sympathetic. We
aren’t meant to care about these people. We are merely meant to be amused by
their folly, even when the stakes become deadly. In other words, Coup de
Chance begins as a French film before turning into a film that could have
been made by England’s Ealing Studio in their prime, all while retaining the
style and tone of a Woody Allen film.
The Blu-ray release of Coup de
Chance doesn’t have any extras to speak of, though it does provide the opportunity
to see Allen’s latest film in high definition.
Entertainment Value:
/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: /10
Historical
Significance: /10
Special Features:
/10
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