Coup de Chance 2024 Movie Review Trailer

Fanny Fournier, a young woman married to a shady financier, is surprised to meet an old schoolmate, Alain, on the street one day. He casually references how he had a crush on her back then and suggests that they'll catch up at some point. She begins to reflect on how her life could have been different if Alain had spoken up. Fanny characterizes herself as a rebel, her husband Jean seems more like a social careerist.

After the long opening shots, there are fragile little scenes in the countryside when Fanny's husband goes shooting in the woods. We are then whisked back to the city, so that you can almost hear the neurotically urbane director gasp, "Ugh!"

Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Stars: Lou de Laâge, Niels Schneider, Anna Laik

Fanny and Alain do not go to a working lunch together, but to a strolling lunch, during which Alain talks about how ironic existence is. Does the fact that he does it in French instead of English make it less cliché? [Argues.] Is it ironic that we have to see her husband Jean display his model train twice? During successive lunches, Alain talks about her youthful longing for Fanny, and her husband Jean is not exactly indifferent to him either. 

She complains: "Sometimes I feel like a trophy wife." She is clearly uneasy. We see Fanny alone on a couch, staring into space as the camera gently zooms in on the sound of soft jazz. [Cut.] Alain's gift of a book of poetry reminds me of Elliot and Lee in Hannah & Her Sisters. Are we on the brink of a reluctant affair? What will happen if Jean finds out? With his head buried in the train, will he even notice?

Alain rather insists on his emotional dreams after Fanny. It's a miracle he doesn't get bored. And why are there no children? There are rarely children in stories in which Woody wants to explore one of his old standbys: chronic dissatisfaction. We continue to see Alain buying things for Fanny with her coins: chestnuts, an old volume of poetry, a single flower instead of a bouquet. A lottery ticket, because since the chances of being born are so small, you have actually already been lucky, so how can you lose? I don't have my fingers crossed for this couple.

Allen wisely energizes Coup de Chance with a more modern and extroverted jazz than, for example, the soporific song used to open Midnight in Paris. However, it's still pretty quiet (Cantaloupe Island several times in the first half hour). The staging is also a happy combination of rich, contrasting colors and soft, sensual lighting. When Fanny confesses her blossoming romance to a friend of hers, the other woman comments on the irony (we all thought you and Jean were the perfect couple). 

The image, when she arrives, of Jean making his angry cuckold face is decidedly comical. Intentionally? Everything in this film has an aura of unreality, even the aforementioned lighting. The model train reminds me of the idiots at Le Diner de Cons, their boring hobbies, but many commentators linked it to the notorious accusation that still follows Allen. Trains that go round and round like a journey/story/illusion that leads nowhere?

In my opinion, Coup de Chance falls short of the more focused storytelling achieved in its British predecessor, Match Point (2005). The topic of luck has been troubling Allen for a long time, and this film, if it is his last, is a satisfying summary of his final period. 

He even nods to Moose's parody of his old comedy album, from back in the 1960s. Lou de Laâge and Melvil Poupaud give convincing performances as Fanny and Jean. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro puts a welcoming glow on the proceedings and all credit to whoever is responsible for the costumes and set design. And everything sounds sexier in French, n'est-ce pas?

It is not a masterpiece, but it is a better film than its predecessor, Rifkin's Festival. Allen enthusiasts will find little new except sights and sounds to enjoy.

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