John Patton Ford’s How to Make a Killing feels like a slight misfire; a ground rule double double when a home run is what’s called for. A remake of the British dark comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, the film is about a working class guy who has been denied his rightful family inheritance, so he decides to murder his way into the wealth he feels owed to him. Given the vast wealth disparity in the world right now, Ford’s film could hit audiences in the same way as something like Parasite. While slickly made and entertaining, it feels like Ford never truly commits to the eat-the-rich bit, making for an uneven experience overall.
Glen Powell stars as Becket Redfellow, who is in line for a vast inheritance as part of the wealthy Redfellow clan. The problem is that his mother was disowned for having him out of wedlock, a weird reason to throw out an admittedly beloved family member in the ’90s. This isn’t the 1950s, is it? Now an adult who has to work a regular job to survive, Becket decides to snuff out the family members ahead of him in order to get the money he feels has been denied him.
Something strange is going on with Glen Powell lately. It’s clear that someone is trying to make him the next big Hollywood star, but nothing is clicking. The charm, sense of humor, and sex appeal he exuded in Hit Man has been absent in both The Running Man and How to Make a Killing. Becket shows flashes of personality, but only while riffing with a prison chaplain while behind bars.
The rest of the time, Becket, and thus Powell, is overshadowed by the colorful cast of misfits in his orbit. Margaret Qualley makes the best of an underwritten role as Julia Steinway, Becket’s childhood crush who has grown up and married into a loveless marriage that is crumbling due to economic ruin. She plays the cold, calculating femme fatale well, and it’s her who guides the narrative almost as much as Becket. Also a lot of fun is Topher Grace as Steven Redfellow, a pastor and Christian rocker clearly fleecing his flock. There’s also Ed Harris as the shadowy family patriarch, whose paranoia leads to an exciting, too-brief scrap with Becket. Also very good is Bill Camp as Becket’s uncle, Warren Redfellow. It’s Warren whose good nature and genuine regret over the treatment of Becket’s mother that throws the plan into some chaos.
Stealing the show, as she typically does, is Jessica Henwick as Becket’s girlfriend, Ruth. It’s Ruth who grounds the film and gives it the humanity it sorely needs. She begins as the wife of one of Becket’s victims and saw the corrosive effects that wealth could bring, choosing to lead her life differently. On his killing spree up the economic mountain, Becket is always caught in this tug-of-war over his feelings for Ruth and Julia. One represents the life he thinks he needs to kill for, the other would force him to be happy with the life he’s already built for himself.
Ford explored somewhat similar territory with his gritty breakout thriller, Emily the Criminal, a fantastic showcase for Aubrey Plaza as a gig worker who bends and breaks the rules just to keep her head above water. The social commentary in that film was more pointed and hard-hitting. How to Make a Killing has tongue firmly in cheek, which dulls its message and also makes Beckett a less interesting antihero figure. At just 105 minutes, this is one you won’t be bored by, but you’ll be left with the feeling that there’s a better satire still waiting to be made.
How to Make a Killing hits theaters on February 20th from A24.
