The satirical comedy «Coup!» starring Peter Sarsgaard and Billy Magnussen will be released in cinemas on September 12. In the review below, we tell you what the filmmakers are trying to ridicule and how interesting it is to watch.
Pluses:
quite high-quality topical satire; excellent acting, in particular, I would like to highlight the performance of Peter Sarsgaard; the plot has a certain intrigue; sometimes good humor;
Minuses:
In terms of originality or a fresh look at the subject of ridicule, the filmmakers are not ready to offer something new, so it may feel somewhat secondary; this story is definitely not about the announced «battle of wits»; the reveal of the intrigue regarding Sarsgaard's character is somewhat disappointing;
«Coup!»
Genre satirical black comedy, thriller
Directors Joseph Schuman, Austin Stark
Starring Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon, Sky P. Marshall, Faran Tahir, Christina Nielsen, Fisher Stevens, Callum Vinson, Willa Dunn
Premiere movie theaters
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
The turbulent year of 1918, the United States. The Spanish flu epidemic is raging in the country, which turned out to be even more deadly and widespread than The First World War. However, for the famous progressive journalist Jay Horton, all these global crises are very distant because he and his family have taken refuge in a luxurious estate located on an isolated island.
The wealthy gentleman’s measured and calm life begins to turn upside down after the arrival of a new cook, Mr. Floyd Monk. The latter not only demonstrates arrogance and insubordination, but also eventually turns all the servants against Horton, and even his wife gradually takes Monk’s side. So the situation is rapidly approaching a coup within the mansion, leading to an irreconcilable conflict with an unpredictable outcome.
From the very beginning, «Coup!» makes it clear that, despite the indirect presence of historical events of the last century in the plot, the satire here will be relevant to the present. More than 100 years have passed since those terrible times, and nothing seems to have changed — we, that is, humanity, are still at war, sick on a pandemic scale, and witness hypocrisy flourishing here and there.
Take, for example, one of the film’s main characters, a respected journalist played by Billy Magnussen. On the one hand, he publishes articles in which he seems to care about the lives and well-being of the working class, calling for the closure of factories, plants, etc. for quarantine. On the other hand, it is more than obvious that through his literary rebellion against the policies of President Thomas Woodrow Wilson. The man gains support from the opposition and makes his way into politics while his own servants are forced to follow the rules he has set. And he didn’t give a damn about those unfortunate workers.
On the one hand, the progressive views of a rich man in full prosperity dictate that he has the right to categorically refuse to eat meat (and even fish because it still implies murder). But we won’t spoil it so as not to spoil your viewing experience.
But at some point, the hypocritical type will have to make a difficult choice when the need to feed his family (a beautiful wife and two young daughters) is at stake. And this, in turn, implies a rejection of one’s own principles — killing that «sacred deer», whether metaphorical or real, after which there will be no turning back. Perhaps, in some fundamental ways, this world has not really changed.
The enigmatic chef Floyd Monk is much more interesting, not least because of the energetic performance of the unsurpassed Peter Sarsgaard. The motive for his openly bold, arrogant and somewhat hedonistic behavior, which becomes the catalyst for the central conflict, is very intriguing.
It should be said right away that the small-town antagonism between the master of the manor and the conditional servant who questions the authority of the boss and claims his place does not offer the «battle of wits» announced on the official poster. That is, there are no intellectual battles to speak of; rather, banal cunning, even meanness, is used. Which does not make the movie worse.
The film is easily on a par with interesting trendy projects of our time, the leitmotif of which is class struggle, social inequality, and ridicule of privileged elites.
In particular, if we recall the lying maid with skeletons in the closet, then analogies with the Oscar-winning «Parasite» Bong Joon-ho come to mind. If we take into account the circumstances when the humbled rich and the commoners are forced to coexist in an isolated place, Robert Estlund’s «Triangle of Sadness» comes to mind. And when it comes to a mad chef, «The Menu» instantly comes to mind, in which Ralph Fiennes treated his guests to criminally expensive gourmet delicacies with an evil smile on his face.
Judging by these comparisons, it is obvious that «Coup!» is by no means an original film, or at least one with a fresh perspective. A lot of projects have already been made about the coronavirus — one of the aspects of the pandemic was ridiculed by the relatively recent «The Decameron», with which «Coup!» also has certain points of contact. And all this does not prevent the new, probably always relevant satire with strong acting performances from being fascinating enough to claim the viewer’s attention. At least, you can’t call it a lean.
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