tadpole-596-918256 Review of Coup de Grâce

Coup de Grâce (1976)

When it comes to War, women--at best--are . . .

[7/10 · 4 November 2020]

. . . collateral damage (that is, they are expendable, like chewing gum). Therefore, no war movie is complete without a few random wenches to serve as shell-shocked screamers, wantons bartering for eggs and sausage, loose-lipped spies or spoils of combat. Since "Sophie" embodies all four of these roles during COUP DE GRACE, she really cuts down on this film's budget for "extras" of the distaff set. As a countess with a hankering for wearing men's clothing, this short-haired spit-fire's noggin is to kill-shots what a round red cushion is to pins. When and where to blow out the brains of this brazen bordello belle amounts to a fleeting afterthought to COUP DE GRACE hero Erich. Soiled daisies such as Sophie are fated to be left as roadside litter splayed askew in the mud, like discarded candy bar wrappers. When there's a war on, cheap courtesans and jaded jezebels of Sophie's ilk aren't worth a warm bucket of it. "Countess" or not, a hussy harlot and sordid strumpet better pray for peace when the bugles of battle blow, unless she wants to become some.