Coup de chance

COUP DE CHANCE, Woody Allen’s 50th film and possibly his last, certainly is a “coup de maître”, a masterstroke, as the French would say. Set in Paris and played by a brilliant French cast, this utterly enjoyable, quick-witted crime drama probes profound moral dilemmas that unfold in a thrilling, boldly irreverent way and can be seen as the final part of a crime trilogy which started with CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989) and continued with MATCH POINT (2005). Once again, there is a love triangle. Treachery, a forbidden afair and eventually murder, fuel the virtuoso plot; a young, emotionally confused wife betrays her wealthy husband, a slick villain, with a bohemian writer and former schoolmate she ‘accidentally’ runs into. Meanwhile a fourth character, a nosy mother-in-law, adds extra spice and is more than she seems. The deftly saturated color palette gives the Parisian setting the look of a sophisticated postcard, while Herbie Hancock’s jazz beat accentuates the tension. Allen subtly plays with all these stereotypes to create a story that is both familiar and unsettling as it revolves around the ambivalence of luck. And the plot remains unpredictable all the way to the last, breathtaking ‘coup de chance’ that turns everything upside down. (Maria Giovanna Vagenas)

Woody Allen: WHAT’S UP, TIGER LILY? (1966), ANNIE HALL (1977), INTERIORS (1978), MANHATTAN (1979), THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (1985), HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986), CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989), MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993), BULLETS OVER BROADWAY (1994), MIGHTY APHRODITE (1995), DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997), SWEET AND LOWDOWN (1999), MATCH POINT (2005), VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (2008), MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011), BLUE JASMINE (2013), CAFÉ SOCIETY (2016)