Coup de Chance

It is of a piece with Woody’s late-life output, a tale of coincidence, chance, and murder that charms at its best and at its worst evaporates upon contact with your eyeballs.

The film’s closing is abrupt and maybe too tidy, but “Coup de Chance” is still a clever little thriller. It displays an admirable economy of storytelling, and its jazz-heavy soundtrack helps maintain a jaunty mood.

This French bonbon, Woody Allen’s best reviewed film in years, is no career landmark. But its blend of humor and homicide shows Allen, 88, still moving forward, creating the kind of film he made his name on, the kind that makes you laugh till it hurts.

Fifty films into his career – he still makes about one per year -- Allen has his art down to a science.

The result at times carries the whiff of something simultaneously refreshing and nostalgic.

'Coup de Chance' restores the masterful filmmaker to his deserved position as one of the screen’s most profound storytellers. 


Its portrayal of a certain Parisian bourgeoisie, its sarcasm and a few observations on how some fortunes are made, hit the mark. [Full review in Spanish]

The New Yorker easily puts together a thriller that, despite being predictable, maintains the interest of the viewer and generates genuine doubts about the fate of its protagonists. [Full review in Spanish]

Coup de Chance is not a masterpiece nor does it claim to be. Its light humor, oblique hint of mystery, and confident lightness of tone elevates Coup de Chance above some more cautionary films...[Full review in Spanish]

This mystery comedy owes a lot to Match Point, with Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, since the themes are the same: luck, destiny, and sin. [Full review in Spanish]