‘Coup!’ review: Class warfare born of pandemic and inequity

As early as the end of 2020, a wave of films began to speak to the COVID-19 pandemic, either explicitly or unintentionally via the limits of their production. Some movies addressed the quarantine and lockdown and the way that our lives had changed. Others simply told stories with just a few people in a single location, which were easier to film safely.

But four years out, we’re getting work that articulates the 2020 pandemic by taking on another pandemic a century ago: the 1918 influenza pandemic. Written and directed by Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark, “Coup!” is a spritely class satire set during this era, though the issues it tackles feel all too timely, which is something all good period pieces should strive for.

One of the film’s antiheroes, Floyd (Peter Sarsgaard), speaks plainly as to what the 2020 pandemic taught us when he tells his employer’s wife, Julia (Sarah Gadon), “Nature has a way of creeping into the modern world, bringing out the beast in some and the beauty in others.” Many would agree that the turmoil and fear of the recent pandemic and lockdown revealed some of our basest human instincts and tendencies, in ways that we are still grappling with.

Floyd’s employer is Jay (Billy Magnussen), a wealthy trust-fund kid and proud muckraker. He’s holed up with his family and servants at their palatial estate on Egg Island, waiting out the pandemic while hammering out fiery newspaper columns demanding the government shut down businesses to protect the working class from the spread of influenza. We meet Floyd as he assumes another man’s identity and makes his way to the island to present himself as the Horton family’s latest personal chef.

But while Floyd cooks up vegetable-forward meals for the staunchly plant-based Jay, he also seizes the opportunity to foment rebellion among the household, beginning with the staff, a diverse group made up of a Black governess (Skye P. Marshall), a Turkish driver (Faran Tahir) and an Irish housekeeper (Kristine Nielsen). Floyd himself is a veteran of the Spanish-American War with a vaguely Louisiana accent; he has little patience for the rules of Jay’s home, especially when the lord of the manor is such an obvious hypocrite.

The writer rattles off missives condemning the Wilson administration and falsely claiming to be at the center of protests in New York City, all while ensconced in his luxurious isolation, waited on hand and foot. Floyd instantly chafes at the hierarchies imposed in Jay’s household, and when the island is cut off from ferries and grocery stores are closed, the mansion becomes dependent on its cook to provide. As the manor devolves into something like “Lord of the Flies,” our hedonistic interloper uses this opening to become a usurper.

Sarsgaard and Magnussen are terrific actors who are skilled at what they do, and they do it here very well. The former excels at playing the earthy, sly, seductive trickster, the latter, the pompous, self-important rich boy. Gadon plays the feminine foil to both actors with ease.

Shot by Conor Murphy with a woodsy glow that evokes the luxury of the grand manor’s interiors (as well as a sepia-tinted vintage quality), “Coup!” shows off a richness and warmth that belies the cynical and cutting nature of the story. While a few extra characters are left at loose ends and therefore feel extraneous, those aren’t necessary for the communication of the central ideas of class warfare and hypocrisy. Anchored by its leads, “Coup!” is a tasty morsel of social commentary about problems that continue to plague our world.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.