Review by
Blair MacBride
Directed by: Austin Stark, Joseph Schuman
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon, Skye P. Marshall, Fisher Stevens
Into the final straight of GFF 24 coverage, this review is one to cry out
from the rooftops with an almighty "Hallelujah!" Finally, a true belter
from this year's fest that audiences will surely recommend to anyone, yet
somehow, there's so little known about it. Getting its initial release at
the 80th annual Venice International Film Festival in September last year,
Coup! is a hysterical comedy/thriller set in New Jersey
during the 1918 Spanish Flu Influenza Pandemic.
Floyd Monk (Peter Sarsgaard) is a sly, witty cook based in the
midst of the worst of the pandemic in New York City. Initially meeting him
shaving his face to look more like the poor chap lying dead in the next
room over, we really aren't born any time at all in getting dropped into
the thick of this film's juicy plot; although this scene's significance is
essential to the story. Taking the dead man's identity papers, Monk
manages to cunningly weave his way into the job of house cook for the
wealthy Horton family on a secluded island off Manhattan.
Upon arrival at the regal looking abode, Monk is received by the
housekeeper - a feisty Mrs McMurray (Kristine Nielson) - and later
introduced to the masters of the house as well as the rest of his fellow
servant colleagues; maid Mrs Tidwell (Skye P. Marshall) and butler,
Khan (Faran Tahir). It all seems very normal for the time; the head
of the family, Jay (the excellent Billy Magnussen) sits in the
safety of his ivory tower writing as a liberal journalist for 'The
Progressive Tribune', providing for his wife Julie (Sarah Gadon)
and their two children Molly (Willa Dunn) and Tom (Callum Vinson). The staff too are diligent, knowing their place both metaphorically
and literally, being funnelled away to the end of the garden in a small
cottage when not doting on the Hortons in their 12 bedroom mansion - with
an indoor pool reserved strictly for family only - during the day.
Sarsgaard's Monk has the elites right where he wants them, however. Having
quickly acclimatised to his surroundings, the rebel begins to amusingly
win over Jay's family and staff with his charm and persuasive persona; so
much so that the very power dynamics of the household ranks start to turn
on their head, and Monk begins to tear down the patriarchal manor
hierarchy with his own surreptitious coup.
Despite it being such a novel time and place for a film to play out,
Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark's dark comedy is an utter
delight. This picture's unique hilarity is delightfully complemented by
the divine dashes of thrilling story developments, making it a perfect
concoction of joy to experience. Indeed, just as it is witty, so too is
the script incredibly interesting, clever and poetic. To visit such a
subject matter so soon after the world experienced its most recent
pandemic is rather harrowing, and one can't help oneself in comparing and
contrasting our own experiences with what unfolds on screen - not all of
us had such a stunning stately gaff, garden and natatorium with which to
lockdown in. But that's what gives it part of its intrigue. Certain
narrative nuances in Coup!'s latter stages deal a really satisfying outcome as well, solidifying
the notion that its co-creators really produced what feels like a
Saltburn
takes Downton Abbey triumph.
The film also benefits from an incredibly talented cast, led by the
imperious Sarsgaard as Floyd Monk and Magnussen as the rather dimwitted
champagne socialist JC Horton. Their characters' continuous back and
forths with one another give the story its backbone, creating a brilliant
clash of personalities and the source of much of this movie's great
laughs.
Aside from a minor faux pas in being thrust into a narrative without any
real build-up or setting of scene, Coup! is just one of
those gems yet to be properly discovered. Its hilariously thrilling story
lives long in the memory, challenging issues of social class and the
political elite in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion. In the months to come,
it can only be hoped that this marvellous film achieves the recognition
and credit that it has, so far, unjustly eluded.
