Review: Coup de Chance

The skills required to be a first-class comedian often prove applicable in less overtly humourous ways - just look at the long list of comedians who've delivered powerhouse performances in dramatic roles. And so it is with Woody Allen.

A new comedy from the 87 year old hasn't exactly been cause for celebration for a while now. But with the French-language and (intentionally) laugh-free Coup de Chance, Allen shows that when he serves up a wry look at human failings, he's still got what it takes to make a killing.

Fanny (Lou de Laage) has it all. Decent job, well-off husband, big apartment in Paris. But when she bumps into old high school classmate Alain (Niels Schneider) after a decade, he's a living reminder of a path not taken. He's a writer living in a garret; her evenings are spent dining with the stuffy friends of her husband Jean (Melvil Poupaud), a man who makes "rich people richer".

Alain makes no secret of the fact he had a crush on her, and that his feelings haven't changed. Increasingly, Jean's controlling side stifles her; soon they're having a full blown affair. Jean is not the kind of man to dismiss minor clues, and he hires an investigator to find out what's going on. Once he's given the bad news, he hires someone with a very different set of skills.  

For a while it seems like Jean has (yet again?) pulled off the perfect crime, until an unlikely investigator arrives. Fanny's mother Camille (Valerie Lemercier) is someone who doesn't let things go, and the more she thinks about it the more she thinks Jean is up to something. But the closer she gets to the truth, the greater the obstacle she becomes to Jean - and we already know how he deals with obstacles.

At a time when it feels like being bombastic is the main requirement for a cinema release, this small scale tale of all-too-human ruthlessness and romance is a breath of fresh air. 

The contrast between the surface charm and the story's dark undercurrent is energising. There's always something compelling about seeing people propelled down a path because of their nature, and Allen retains a comedians eye when it comes to crafting engaging characters.

Likewise, his ability to conjure an lovingly idealised image of urban life is undiminished, even if here it's Paris rather than New York that's on adoring display. Putting good looking people in attractive locations will take you a long way in a movie; throw in a well-crafted plot with some sharp observations and you've got a winner.

- Anthony Morris