Things at Egg Island are about to crack in “Coup!” after a new cook named Floyd (Peter Sarsgaard) arrives to serve the Hortons, a well-to-do family that has headed for the hills as large swaths of the population have been hit hard by the Spanish Flu in 1918. It is the plan of the family’s patriarch and heir to a meat packing fortune Jay (Billy Magnussen) to let the commotion die down while firing off missives to run as editorials in major newspapers about what others should be doing, both well-meaning and completely oblivious to the needs of those of considerably less means than him, urging the same level of personal responsibility such he took himself when he gave up eating meat in spite of the fortune it provided him with. But although Jay may have successfully insulated himself, his wife (Sarah Gadon) and their children from the virus, there are other things that could be contagious when beyond being liable to sneak some filet into the eggplant casserole he dishes out to Jay, their latest addition to their staff has other things he’d like to smuggle onto the lavish estate — ideas, really, when he starts foment a rebellion among his fellow employees about their rights as workers and notions about their personal worth.
Co-writers and directors Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark make a meal out of the period setting, drafting Fisher Stevens for a cameo as Upton Sinclair and filming inside a mansion that one might mistake for the famed Hearst Castle with its extraordinary amenities including a gorgeous art deco pool Jay swims in to let off steam, yet it would be impossible not to watch “Coup!” without thinking about the aftershocks of the more recent global pandemic where the spread of the disease exposed socioeconomic realities that were rarely discussed. The exclamation point on the film’s title is indicative of how Schuman and Stark do it with panache in the dark comedy where Floyd sets about slowly turning every member of the household against Jay, turning his intended safe haven into a prison when he can no longer ignore the outside world as its concerns creep into his own house.
At first glance, “Coup!” may appear to be a bit of a departure for Stark, who previously directed the high-minded dramas “The God Committee” with Kelsey Grammer and “The Runner” with Nicolas Cage, but in collaborating with Schuman, the film hardly shies away from the excruciating moral quandaries that have provided an electrical current through his previous works, only here the release valves are laughs instead of gasps. Both Sarsgaard and Magnussen are firmly committed to taking their characters dead seriously as their feud grows sillier and sillier, with the film playing out as an early 20th century version of “What About Bob” as the proactive Jay proves irresistible to everyone in the house as Floyd can only dig in his feet. “Coup!” seems bound to win one over as the former does, providing a little welcome escapism even when it’s hitting home.
“Coup!” opens on August 2nd. A full list of theaters and dates is here. It will be available on VOD on September 3rd.