How to Make a Killing is a black comedy thriller directed by John Patton Ford (who has previously directed Emily the Criminal) and produced by A24. Becket Redfellow (Glenn Powell) is a disowned member of the wealthy Redfellow family, who hatches a plan to kill off every member of the family so that he may inherit the family fortune. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1949 British film Kind Hearts and Coronets (which, in turn, was inspired by the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal).
As a disclaimer, I am unfamiliar with both Kind Hearts and Coronets and Israel Rank. I will judge this film based on its own merits.
Also, this review will feature no spoilers.
The stars themselves
By far, the movie’s strongest aspect was the acting. Much like his portrayal of Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick, Glenn Powell does an amazing job. He made the main character in Becket seem somewhat sympathetic, gradually growing worse as the film goes on. Even when I had a problem with the movie’s comedy (which we will get to later), his delivery of the lines warranted a chuckle.
Another notable performance is Margaret Qualley, who plays Becket’s childhood love interest. She also does a great job at portraying someone who is all that she seems.
Everyone else in the cast portrays their characters with remarkable skill. Even the most hateful characters offered a lot of charm. Even characters with little screen presence, such as Zach Woods and Topher Grace, made a strong impression.
Unfortunately, that leads to one of the movie’s problems…
Too much focus on Powell?
One of the main problems with the movie was its hyperfocus on the lead character. This may be because Becket is the one narrating the story, but I would have liked more from everyone else. Characters such as Julia, Ruth, and every member of the Redfellow family should have received more attention to flesh out their personalities and motivations.
Each of the Redfellows is given very little screentime, so they were really only given brief glimpses into their personalities. Ruth’s character could also have used a lot more screentime, given how important she was to Becket’s development.
As I have already said, the actors were all fantastic, so I wish we had gotten to see their talents utilized more.
Too comedic and too dark to be a “dark comedy.”
How to Make a Killing is advertised as a “comedy-thriller”, but it did not go far enough in either direction. Sometimes the story felt too serious to be very funny. Other times, it tried to be too funny to be taken seriously.
For a movie about a man trying to kill his family, death was barely prominent on screen. Despite the R rating, the movie felt like it was trying to sanitize everything for wider appeal rather than taking a risk. I understand this is a comedy as well, but there are plenty of other dark comedies that explore the darker aspects of society. The Korean film, No Other Choice, for example, did a good job of this.
I am not saying that films need to be inherently dark and edgy to have something to say. I just believe that How to Make a Killing would have thrived more if it had gone further into either the comedy or the dark thriller elements.
The lack of darker elements leads to the main problem I have with the film’s social commentary.
To portray a message
To give How to Make a Killing some credit, there was a genuine attempt to offer social commentary regarding money and wealth. The film shows how hard it is to survive in this world without much money or strong connections. With how hard it can be to find a job these days, many can relate.
However, it felt like the movie tried to be a warning about what happens when people go too far to get money, but it did not do enough to show the true horrors the rich would commit. Ultimately, most of the Redfellows they came across were the Hollywood version of eccentric rich caricatures. Any truly harmful actions they’ve committed have either downplayed or barely mentioned.
You could argue that they did this to make us feel sorry for them as they die, and to make the audience think more poorly of Becket. You could also argue that there are rich people who do over-the-top activities, as we see in the movie. However, if the movie portrayed all of them as the self-entitled rich jerks the trailers suggested, it could also show what happens to people who grow up with everything handed to them and the awful actions they can commit. It would help explore more fully how money can bring out the worst in everyone, not just the main character, who did not grow up with much money to begin with.
There are so many problems in the world that revolve around money (and those who have too much) that should have explored more.
Suspension of disbelief
As far as the premise goes, it was hard to believe Becket could get away with what he does. As you can tell from the trailer, there are supposed to be FBI agents suspicious of Becket, but even then, they are barely in the film at all. There wasn’t much tension; the movie sorely needed to be a thriller. It also breaks the suspension of disbelief.
Strangely, the movie felt reminiscent of the Kill Bill movies, with both films featuring morally questionable protagonists trying to kill a set number of people. However, Kill Bill is completely over-the-top in its story and characters, which makes it easier to suspend disbelief while The Bride is killing dozens of people without getting arrested. How to Make a Killing, on the other hand, felt like it was still trying to be a little grounded, so it did not work as well.
The movie is a dark comedy, so you may not expect complete seriousness. There are plenty of films that do the same, and realism isn’t needed to get a message across. The Trueman Show, for example, explored an improbable scenario that did a great job of conveying its message on media and consumerism. However, since a major theme of the film was the rich, either grounding it a bit more or doubling the absurdism would have made suspending disbelief less of an issue.
Is How to Make a Killing worth viewing?
Despite everything, How to Make a Killing is by no means a bad movie. There is plenty of great acting and cinematography to enjoy. If you can suspend your disbelief better than I can, you may have a decent experience. However, you may be better off waiting for the movie to stream than seeing it in theaters.
As a dark-comedy thriller, it does its job, just not exceptionally well. They could have done a lot more with their premise than they did.
If you are still interested, How to Make a Killing is currently playing in all theaters.
