This past Spring, I posted a few early reactions for Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance”, with all of them saying it was “his best film in years.” It turned out to not be hyperbole.
The reviews are coming In for “Coup de Chance” at Venice and Variety, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, Showbiz411, UK papers like The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph are all calling it … Allen’s best film in years.
At the film’s world premiere, Allen was treated like a rock star, receiving a passionate 5-minute standing ovation which would have gone on longer had the filmmaker not started to exit. Here’s Variety’s reporting:
Allen began to make his way toward the door, cutting the standing ovation short. The filmmaker looked visibly moved during the reaction and at one point took out a tissue. Allen was greeted in the theater by a standing ovation before the movie even screened as fans tried to catch video of him. The reception was the same on the red carpet, with fans cheering him on enthusiastically — however, just outside the carpet a group of protesters walked by.
Glenn Kenny of the New York Times already Tweeted his rave, writing: “Coup de Chance” is NOT “Match Point” redux. It’s framed in a substantially different way. And it’s universes better. Those are TWO points of dissimilarity.
So far, “Coup de Chance” is at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. This reception is night and day compared to practically every film Allen’s released since his infamous 2017 #MeToo moment.
Of course, Allen wasn’t going to get great notices from every critic. For all of the positive reviews, there are a few negative takes from THR, The Daily Beast, Deadline, and The Playlist.
The last 20 years, Allen has been very hit or miss. The films that I really liked from this timespan were “Match Point,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Blue Jasmine,” “Wonder Wheel” and the underrated, and gloomy, “Irrational Man.”
“Coup de Chance” already has international distribution all over Europe. Now an American distributor with cojones is going to have take this one on.
Lars Von Trier is working on the 15th—and likely final—film of his career, “After,” and according to his producer, Peter Aalbæk Jensen, the screenplay is supposed to be completed this month