Coup de chance (2024)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Lucky Breaks

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Woody Allen's best movie in some years, the French-language drama/thriller Coup de chance is a successful and satisfying combination of storytelling elements that have cropped up throughout his career.

Fanny (Lou de Laâge), who works at a Paris auction house, is approached by writer Alain (Niels Schneider), an old schoolmate. He's in town to work on a new book. They begin having lunch together, and Alain confesses to having a longtime crush on her. Fanny is married to Jean (Melvil Poupaud), whose job is "making rich people richer." Jean — who builds electric train sets as a hobby — is attentive, if a bit bossy, but they are happy together.

Yet something about Alain creates a stir in Fanny, and she finds herself falling in love. She knows she must make a decision, to be honest with Jean, but can't seem to figure things out. Meanwhile, Fanny's mother (Valérie Lemercier) makes a startling discovery about Jean.

Allen has long admired European filmmakers, and with his fiftieth film, Coup de chance, he has achieved his ultimate homage. Early in his career, he began making dramas like Interiors (which tried to emulate Swedish master Ingmar Bergman), while attempting to slough off the limiting banner of "comedy filmmaker," but his efforts were somewhat stuffy and never fully appreciated. ("We like your earlier, funnier ones," goes a joking refrain from Stardust Memories.)

Later, he tackled the British crime drama genre with serious movies like Match Point and Cassandra's Dream, with some success. Now he has cleverly combined a sophisticated study of romance, longing and guilt, with a sly murder mystery — and all in French. It's like a mashup of movies by French New Wave directors Eric Rohmer and Claude Chabrol.

Directing in a second language, he coaxes surprisingly naturalistic performances, portraying dimensional, flawed characters. We genuinely care about Fanny's plight, and we believe her connections to both Alain and Jean. Glorious cinematography by the legendary Vittorio Storaro captures their story in lustrous, luxurious long takes. When the crafty crime aspect is woven in, it's done so subtly, with no overt violence, and merely a rising sense of threat.

One particular behavioral choice — a character that should have known better who cluelessly wanders into danger — is a somewhat major quibble, but Coup de chance works so well that it's forgivable.