Coup!

8^th September 2023

Andrew Murray

Andrew Murray

8 September 2023

Writing and directing duo Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark create a giddy and darkly comic examination of class struggles in endlessly delightful Coup!. Set against the backdrop of the 1918 Spanish Flu, the movie opens with debonair fraudster Floyd Monk (a mesmerising Peter Sarsgaard, who speaks in a suave Southern accent) trimming his moustache. He’s getting ready to start his new job as a cook for exceedingly wealthy journalist Jay Horton (Billy Magnussen) and his wife (Sarah Gadon). Once inside the family’s luxurious manor, he ignites an uprising that turns the journalist’s staff and family against him.

Sarsgaard is the star of the show. The actor relishes every scene he’s in, delivering each of his lines with a charismatic magnetism that’s impossible not to fall for. Meanwhile, Magnussen is equally as fantastic as the cook’s adversary. Jay is both a self-righteous moralist who pushes back against the government’s inaction over the pandemic and an entitled elitist who’s overly protective about his giant indoor swimming pool. As the effects of the family’s self-imposed lockdown and rebellion take their toll, cracks begin to appear in the journalist’s progressive façade to expose him as a hypocrite who writes about being in the centre of the outbreak from the comfort of his office chair.

Through the single location of the family’s lavish home, the filmmakers have created a microcosm of society, which takes a satirical swing at classicism. Sprinkle in a dash of mystery thriller and the result is a pacy and tightly written script that doesn’t slow down until the credits roll. Despite its pandemic setting, Coup! doesn’t parallel the recent lockdown as much as viewers may expect; however, the family’s isolation makes for the perfect excuse for madness to take hold. A fervour grips the household as Jay becomes more unhinged, desperately attempting to claw back his position as the patriarch as his rivalry with his new employee escalates.

For all its cleverness, this film doesn’t go as far with its premise as it could have. Events take the insanity to boiling point, but before the feature can revel this new situation, the plot rushes to its conclusion. Although it doesn’t go completely bonkers, Coup! is nevertheless a lot of fiendish fun.

Andrew Murray

Coup! does not have a release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Venice Film Festival 2023 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Venice Film Festival website here.