Danielle Solzman
A mysterious grifter, claiming to be the new family chef, sparks rebellion after arriving at an isolated estate in eat-the-rich comedy Coup!
I’m gonna come out and say it but as far as eat-the-rich comedies go, it’s hard to top The Menu. Where the 2022 comedy premiered at TIFF, this one premiered in the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival a year later. It would be nearly another year before the film saw its release in theaters. An indie film, it did not get much of a chance to develop a box office following. The film played in just over 250 theaters at its widest, dropping to 25 theaters after the first week of release. This really speaks to just how hard it is for indie films to develop an audience. I had hoped to fit the film into my schedule after the Olympics ended. Alas, that didn’t happen and I ended up watching on DVD after its October release. The lack of bonus features are a missed opportunity.
Jay Horton (Billy Magnussen), an entitled Progressive journalist, and Julie Horton (Sarah Gadon), his socialite wife, are isolating themselves on a seaside estate to escape the 1918 Spanish Flu. It’s during this time when Floyd Monk (Peter Sarsgaard), a mysterious drifter arrives to be their private cook. The plague eventually arrives on the island and Floyd uses the moment to spark the staff’s rebellious takeover. Does Floyd have a bigger agenda at play and could it be sinister? Maybe. In any event, the Hortons and Floyd are duking it out with each other.
I probably would never have considered setting a class warfare satire during the 1918 Flu Epidemic. It’s probably because of having lived the a global pandemic that had me way too isolated for a year. At the end of the day, it’s less so about pandemics or epidemics in as much as it is about the haves and the have-nots. Part comedy, part thriller, the film itself revolves around Floyd. Floyd might present himself as a chef in front of the Hortons but there’s more here than meets the eye. The fact that he’s sparking a staff rebellion during an epidemic–well, that’s another story altogether. While all that’s happening, Floyd is making an attempt to seduce Julie away from Jay. Will he succeed in doing so? You’ll just have to watch the film to see for yourself.
To add some historical fiction into the mix, Fisher Stevens portrays Upton Sinclair. For those not familiar, Upton Sinclair ran as the Democratic challenger to incumbent California governor Frank F. Merriam in the 1934 gubernatorial election. This is the very election that brought attack ads into the forefront. The Hollywood studios played a prominent role in the anti-Sinclar attack ads. Things played out differently in real life than they did in Mank.
Coup! does its best in finding the right balance between comedy and thriller.
DIRECTORS/SCREENWRITERS: Austin Stark & Joseph Schuman
CAST: Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon, Skye P. Marshall, Faran Tahir, Kristine Nielsen, Callum Vinson, Willa Dunn, and Fisher Stevens
Greenwich Entertainment released Coup! in theaters on August 2, 2024. Grade: 3.5/5
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