Coup! ★★★

Class war has been at the center of many recent films with directors Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman adding Coup! to this trend. Coup!, a dark comedy set against the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 New York, finds a mysterious man using the name Floyd Monk (Peter Sarsgaard) arriving to the exclusive Egg Island. The real Floyd had been hired as a chef by the wealthy journalist Jay Horton (Billy Magnussen) and this new Floyd intends on taking his place, while exacting revenge on this wealthy muckraker. Compared to some of the other films of its thematic ilk, Coup! is more focused on being a toppling of a very specific type of rich person, namely one who likes to speak about the plight of the impoverished while propagating the conditions that keep them in squalor.

Jay Horton is a muckraker, stirring up drama in his paper about the inaction of President Woodrow Wilson, who he accuses of prioritizing the efforts of the war in Europe and forgetting the war at home against the flu. Arguing for closures and strict mask policies, Jay may claim to have his heart with the working people, but his words are empty. His stories are filled with lies, namely claiming to be active in protests. He writes about the poor and the working class as though he is part of it, while demonstrating repeatedly that his words are entirely self-serving and that his true feeling is that these people in his employ are only servants with no worth beyond what they can do for him. He may sugarcoat it, assuring everyone around him that he is a man of the people and cares for his staff. They all live in the distant “staff quarters”, not referred to as the “servants quarters”, because that would be regressive. Of course, they are not allowed to live in the house, use the pool, or generally mingle with the Horton family.

In steps the faux Floyd Monk. An actual friend of the real Floyd, this Floyd is out for some revenge and deliciously sets about undermining every aspect of Jay’s life, rules, and home. Nothing and nobody are off-limits, not even Jay’s wife Julie (Sarah Gadon). The staff, namely Mrs. Tidwell (Skye P. Marshall) and Kaan (Faran Tahir), are stirred to rebellion, first in small transgressions and later in dramatic requests that play on Jay’s bleeding heart that allow Floyd to pull this pompous elite down without detection. As the order of the home becomes progressively inverted and chaos reigns, Coup! is a blast. Sarsgaard charms considerably, devilishly spinning his web wherever he turns and bewitching the audience as much as he does Jay’s family and the staff.

One can easily apply parallels to the recent COVID pandemic with discussion over masks and closures of restaurants, theaters, and other places of public gathering to Coup!. Even Egg Island is soon hit by closures when the flu arrives on its shores and the local farmer’s market closes and the ferry to New York City shuts down, stranding every inhabitant of this luxurious estate on the island. The isolation, inescapability, and fear, are palpable as Coup! develops and these qualities are central to the film’s themes. As Floyd says to Julie, “Nature has a way of creeping into the modern world, revealing the beast in some and the beauty in others.” The pandemic for all was transformational, forcing people to reckon with a side of themselves that they never previously considered or had repressed. Though there is the literal Spanish flu driving the action, Floyd comes to represent a personification of the pandemic as he sweeps in unexpectedly and drives change in how the working class values themselves (demanding higher wages, better quarters, and improved working conditions) while exposing some previously revered and valued as dated relics of a world to which nobody wanted to return.

Coup! will naturally attract political commentary with Jay framed as a vegetarian, pro-closure, and elitist journalist. Yet, while Sarsgaard’s mysterious chef may sport a literal stolen identity, it is Jay Horton who is a fraud in the film. His naked ambition and attempts to sell himself as a man for the working class is repeatedly undercut, both by Floyd’s insurrectionist activities and a dressing down by progressive muckraker Upton Sinclair (Fisher Stevens), who plays Jay for the fool that he is throughout the film. Jay is not mocked or undermined for his beliefs, but for willingly lying and misrepresenting himself in order to position himself as a political candidate. Magnussen plays the pompous egotist very well, delivering great moments of physical comedy as his world begins to unravel. In line with the film’s class war themes, it will take a lot to topple a man as made in society as Jay Horton with a pandemic perhaps offering a brief respite, but he is always lurking. He will have to shift, revealing more of the bloodthirsty beast he previously tried to repress, but he and others like him will persist in his own way with the working classes’ gains and celebrations proving fleeting.

While the film’s pandemic and political commentary are engaging, Coup! can be an unsubtle experience. Its pandemic ideas carry more potency, while its political commentary can fall into a repetitive cycle that hits its obvious target but does not have much to add. It is a fun experience nonetheless, but it does rely on the charm and skill of its cast to ward off wearing out its welcome. The character of Julie is a mixed problem for the film as well with the reveal of her past experiences making her into a captivating character – one that Gadon plays terrifically – but then the film traps her into a love triangle of sorts. Isolated in the beginning from her husband Jay for how he puts her into a box – she is a writer and he only wants her to write on certain subject matters – and then drawn to Floyd, Mrs. Tidwell, and Kaan for how they allow her to re-visit her repressed worldly and energetic self, she seems strong on the surface. Unfortunately, her increased attraction to Jay comes when she sees him as a “provider” after a successful hunt and her placement within the plot as merely something else for Floyd to conquer as part of his attempt to unseat Jay strikes a regressive note.

Coup! is funny and engaging as a class-based battle of wits, while its pandemic-relevant themes strike a chord. Its lack of subtlety, repetitiveness, and flawed characterizations hold it back from making a stronger impression, however, a strong lead performance from Peter Sarsgaard helps see it through its flaws. Strong supporting turns from Billy Magnussen and Sarah Gadon add to the film’s appeal with Coup! largely sticking the landing.