Over the years, Woody Allen has written and directed some of the best romantic comedies of all time, dramas that blur the line between reality and fantasy, and intricate crime thrillers that leave you guessing until the very end. In the near future, the acclaimed and controversial filmmaker will release his next film (his 50th, in fact): Coup de Chance, or Stroke of Luck in French.
If this is the first you’re hearing about the new romance/drama/thriller, don’t worry; we have a decent amount of information to share with you. From its cast to trailer to why this could very well be the final addition to Allen’s prolific filmography, here’s everything we know about Coup de Chance.
What Is The Coup De Chance Release Date?
No United States release date has been announced for Coup de Chance, but Woody Allen’s new movie will have a theatrical rollout in France starting on September 27, 2023. The release of the new movie is being handled by Metropolitan FilmExport, a French distribution company that has also brought some of the best A24 movies to the country in recent years. The movie had its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival where it received a five-minute standing ovation, according to Deadline.
Though no domestic company has stepped in to handle distribution for Coup de Chance in the United States, be on the lookout for more information in the coming weeks and months about different ways to check it out for yourself.
The Coup De Chance Cast Includes Lou De Laâge, Niels Schneider, And Melvil Poupaud
Throughout his career, Woody Allen has worked with a large assortment of actors ranging from Diane Keaton and MIchael Caine to Scarlett Johansson and Timothée Chalamet, with dozens upon dozens of up-and-comers and established stars in some of the best movies of all time. Though the Coup de Chance cast doesn’t feature any big-time Hollywood A-listers, the director will be working with another talented group.
According to Metropolitan FilmExport, Lou De Laâge will take on the role of Fanny, a young woman happily married to Jean, played by Melvil Poupaud. Niels Schneider steps in as Alain, an old friend of Fanny’s whose arrival throws some complications into their lives. Also in the cast are Valerie Lemercier, Elsa Zylberstein, Bárbara Goenaga, Grégory Gadebois, Anne Loiret, Sara Martins, Guillaume de Tonquédec and Arnaud Viard, per Deadline.
The Coup De Chance Trailer Is Full Of Romance, Infidelity, And Hints Of Murder
In August 2023, the official Woody Allen YouTube page posted the first (and perhaps only) Coup de Chance trailer – 90-second teaser of things to come in the romantic crime thriller. Despite being rather short when compared to other new trailers, the preview packs in a lot of details and intrigue that both gets you excited for the upcoming film and leaves you guessing as to what’s going to happen next.
Romance, infidelity, and hints of murder are all present in the video, with shots of supposedly happy couples, steamy love affairs, and mystery men snooping around in the shadows. It’s not hard to think about Allen’s other thrillers like Match Point, Scoop, and Cassandra’s Dream after watching this teaser. If Coup de Chance is half as riveting and complex as those three movies, fans of the director will be in good shape once it finally lands stateside at some point in the near future.
The Movie Centers On A Parisian Couple Whose Lives Are Disrupted By The Arrival Of An Old Friend
If the official synopsis provided by the Venice Film Festival (where the movie premiered out of competition in September 2023) is any indication, Coup de Chance sounds very much in line with a great number of Woody Allen’s previous works in that it focuses on a seemingly normal and apparently happily married couple whose lives are thrown into disarray. In the movie, Fanny (Lou De Laâge) and Jean (Melvil Poupaud) have it all: a healthy relationship, established jobs, and a beautiful apartment in the center of Paris. But Alain (Niels Schneider), Fanny’s high school classmate, complicates things when he shows up and sweeps her off her feet.
The Movie Is Entirely In French
One thing you may notice from the Coup de Chance trailer is that it is entirely in French, and that’s the case for the movie as a whole. During a press conference following the movie’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival (via The Upcoming), Woody Allen was asked why he decided on making the movie in French, a language he doesn’t even speak:
I was going to make this film with two Americans living in Paris, and then I thought to myself, well, it’s my 50th film and I love Paris so much that I would make it French. I don’t speak French, but that didn’t bother me because all the actors spoke English, and so I thought I would make it completely in French, and I had a wonderful time making, and I then felt that I was a genuine European filmmaker.
The “genuine European filmmaker” line was referencing a story earlier in the conference in which Allen talked about being inspired by French, Italian, and Swedish filmmakers when he was younger, and how he always wanted to be part of such a group. Now he has his wish.
Coup De Chance Could Be Woody Allen’s Final Movie
Woody Allen has come out and said Coup de Chance will be his swan song, but when discussing his 50th movie in a Variety interview in September 2023, the director of the Academy Award-winning Annie Hall, Blue Jasmine, and Midnight in Paris (which received a great review from CinemaBlend) explained that the whole “raising money” aspect of getting a film made was one thing he didn’t know if he could do any longer. He explained,
I have so many ideas for films that I would be tempted to do it, if it was easy to finance. But beyond that, I don’t know if I have the same verve to go out and spend a lot of time raising money.
This comes a little less than a year after Allen told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia (via Deadline) that he would be retiring after making a film called Wasp 22, which was eventually retitled to Coup de Chance. Instead of making more movies, Allen said at the time, he would like to focus on writing.
Only time will tell if Coup de Chance is in fact Woody Allen’s final film – a movie that will hopefully find its way to the United States sooner or later. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie calendar to see what other big screen (and streaming) releases are coming out the final few months of the year.
