How To Make A Killing - Review

Rating: 3 out of 5

EARLY on in John Patton Ford’s satirical How To Make A Killing, Glen Powell’s leading character floats the often stated idea that “money can’t buy you happiness” - scoffing at the notion and declaring that it can.

It’s an interesting idea and one that the subsequent film sets about to challenge.

But while hugely playful and largely entertaining, the overall movie ultimately feels shallow, missing out on the opportunity to have created something more biting and rich in itself.

A re-imagining of the classic 1949 British comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, which starred Alec Guinness, the film certainly feels ripe for an update given the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor, not to mention the current popularity of films and TV shows that depict wealthy people suffering (the so-called ‘eat the rich’ genre).

Powell plays disowned orphan Becket Redfellow, a blue collar worker who belatedly discovers that he will be the sole heir to a $28 billion fortune once seven other family members have passed away.

Initially content to wait in line, he is ‘seduced’ into murdering his way towards the inheritance by a childhood crush (Margaret Qualley’s Julia Steinway)… quickly discovering that most of those who stand in his way are pretty loathsome rich kid brats.

But Becket’s tale - or ‘tragedy’ - is relayed via flashback and narration by Becket himself from a prison cell on Death Row, just hours before he is due to be executed.

Ford’s film, which is also based on a script that had spent time on Hollywood’s fabled Black List, therefore takes you through the various murders as Becket finds his crime spree surprisingly easy.

But it’s also offset with his own rise at an investment firm (a job supplied by his sympathetic uncle) and burgeoning relationship with Jessica Henwick's nice girl Ruth, the ex-girlfriend of one of his victims, with whom he shares more in common.

The film therefore also poses the question of what constitutes true happiness (and emotional wealth), while offering some interesting commentary on the vacuous lifestyles of the uber rich and subsequently revelling in their demise.

And for the most part, it’s an easy watch that zips along in some style.

Powell brings his usual charisma but is somewhat undone by a narrative that places viewers increasingly at odds with his central character, particularly once his decisions become more ruthless and self-centred the closer he gets to the inheritance. There’s not much attempt to pause for any real moral complexity or soul searching, thereby diminishing the film’s weight.

All that’s left is seeing just how Becket ended up on Death Row and whether there is a twist in the tale and some kind of redemption… but while the film does deliver a suitably decent sting, it doesn’t quite land as emphatically as it should. If anything, it feels rather shallow.

On the plus side, it remains worth watching for a particular eye-catching femme fatale turn from Qualley, whose man eater is genuinely addictive whenever on screen. And Henwick is suitably charming as the far more down to Earth and sincere Ruth.

Just as he did with the far superior Emily The Criminal (his debut), Ford offers strong roles for his female cast.

But it's a measure of the film's inconsistent nature that while the likes of Henwick and Qualley really do shine, seasoned character actors such as Ed Harris and Bill Camp are wasted, when they could have offered the depth and nuance the film ends up lacking.