Coup! (2024) Movie ending explained: What are the overarching connotations of Floyd Monk's Death?

The dark comedy film Coup! written and directed by Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman was released in the United States on August 2, 2024. Starring Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Magnussen, and Sarah Gadon, it is a commentary on society and its obsession with hierarchies. It also comments on the self-righteousness exhibited by some sections of society (the upper-middle and upper classes).

Billy Magnussen stars as Jay Horton in Coup!. Jay a self-righteous magnate who ticks off all the boxes when it comes to doing the right thing. He leads the vegetarian way of life, ensures that his domestic helpers are paid generously, and fights for the causes of the impoverished and downtrodden. However, in the absence of any lived experience and moral know-how, he does so from a pedestal.

His performative politics are unmasked with the introduction of Peter Sarsgaard's Floyd Monk who is employed at the Horton's mansion during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which saw the deaths of several people, especially those belonging to the lower rungs of the society, leading to a labor shortage.

In the beginning, Jay tries to impose his sanctimoniousness on Monk but fails miserably when he realizes that, unlike the others, Monk is not a passive recipient of his falsity. He likes to engage with him and at one point almost ends up switching places with him. However, the turntable situation does not last long as Jay eventually succeeds in turning matters in his favor by killing Monk.

Monk's death in Coup!, following the animosity between him and Jay, when placed outside of the film's narrative, translates to the prevalent class struggles in all societies. To change the order of things in the world at large, certain factions of society tend to occasionally rise against others in an attempt to shake things up and bring about change.

However, when all courses of action are taken, historically, things have usually ended up favoring the privileged instead of the impoverished, thereby creating a continuous cycle of inequality. While the rich gradually become richer, often at the expense of the poor, the poor become poorer.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

---

Floyd Monk's death in Coup! is a failed attempt at bringing about change

In the grand scheme of things, Floyd Monk in Coup! wanted to avenge the death of a fellow man whose social circumstances were similar to his. He attempted to achieve the same by posing as a domestic worker and getting employed by the Hortons.

As time passed Monk engaged in several activities that painted him as the antagonist of the film. Be it spiking the chief of house staff, Mrs. McMurray's mushroom, or sidelining Jay when he seemingly gets affected by the Spanish flu, Monk does everything in his capacity to ensure that Jay is stripped of his position in his own house.

However, all of his efforts go in vain when Jay kills him in the end. Once this happens, the portrayal of Monk as the villain of the film changes, and the audience begins to see the characters and their stories for what they truly are.

While Jay represents the upper echelons of society who succumb to vanity and complacency, Floyd represents the oppressed sections of society who are constantly striving to bring about change in a society that does not benefit them.

---

Floyd Monk in Coup! ends up having an affair with Jay Horton's wife

In Coup!, besides Floyd Monk, Jay's wife, Jules is perhaps one of the few people who sees Jay Horton for what he is, a man hiding under a veneer of behaving morally when in reality he is as presumptuous and self-marketing as anyone else of his stature.

The similarities between Jules and Floyd's perceptions of Jay and the way they are treated by him create a unique bond between the two that quickly becomes intimate. Eventually, they begin an affair behind Jay's back. However, when Jay kills Floyd, Jules doesn't even bat an eyelid and everything goes back to normal, suggesting how insignificant Floyd's role was in her life.

---

---

Jay eventually ends up getting what he wants in Coup!

Although Jay was pushed to his limits by Floyd and the others in the house when he was suspected of having the Spanish flu virus, he eventually re-established his position in the house when he killed Floyd and revealed his true identity. He discovered that Floyd Monk was actually dead and that the person in their house was another man who was claiming to be him.

When Jay learns that the man impersonating Floyd did all this to avenge his friend, the real Floyd Monk, who committed suicide after losing his job during the pandemic, he shoots him. Soon after his death, things return to normal in the Horton household.

---

Coup! is available for viewing on several streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, and Apple TV Plus.