Although I don’t believe it’s being credited as such, this former Blacklist screenplay from writer/director John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal) is actually an amusing reworking of the 1949 Ealing Studios masterpiece Kind Hearts and Coronets, in which Alec Guinness played all of the members of an obscenely wealthy family—male and female—who needed to be killed in order for a distant, poor relative to be the heir to the family’s $28 billion fortune.
In How to Make a Killing, Glen Powell plays the poor relation in question, Becket Redfellow, whose mother was cast out of the Redfellow family for getting pregnant with him and drawing shame upon their name. Growing up having to earn every penny he gets, Becket grew up angry and motivated, and when he has the chance to interact with one of his privileged cousins at a party, he simply disposes of him in a manner that practically presents itself to him.
And for the rest of the film, Becket works his way into the family banking business with the help of Uncle Warren (Bill Camp), who is one of the relatives who must die but is actually quite kind to Becket (which presents a bit of a quandary). The idea of actually killing off the Redfellows comes from what Becket thinks is an off-hand comment from an old friend, Julia (Margaret Qualley), whom he runs into just before she’s about to get married. But Julia shows up later, after a couple of relatives are six feet under, very suspicious and perhaps wanting something for her to stay silent. Meanwhile, Becket is patient, but the bodies start piling up, including those of cousins Noah, a pretentious artist played by Zach Woods, and Steven (a Christian rocker/pastor played by Topher Grace), all leading up to an encounter with Becket’s grandfather (Ed Harris), who was the one that actually kicked his mother out of their home all those years ago.
Make no mistake, despite all of the murder and treachery, How to Make a Killing is meant to be a dark comedy, and bringing in certain comedic actors to play relatives makes that happen. Although he’s got the chops to be funny, Powell is mostly the straight man here; he still exudes charm and poise so that everyone will trust him and never suspect him of cold-blooded murder. Even when the FBI begins to investigate, they have a tough time believing he even has a motive. One of the better aspects of the movie is Becket’s girlfriend, Ruth (Jessica Henwick, Glass Onion), who seems to be the only one he can be himself around, even though he has to lie to her about certain corners of his life. Henwick plays a huge part in grounding this film in a type of reality that some of the characterizations of the family members want to push into exaggeration.
It’s also nice to see Powell not try so hard to be likable to an audience. To be clear, he is trying with his family members, but that’s a different kind of posing. Often, he mirrors the eccentricities of whomever he’s targeting, but once they’re dead, he drops it, making him a special type of chameleon (one that isn’t nearly as interesting as what he pulled off in 2023’s Hit Man). Still, he’s mostly playing it cool and reserved—trying to get noticed for his professional accomplishments and not for his dubious personality. In subtle and clever ways, How to Make a Killing hooked me early and pulled me through its machinations painlessly, right to an ending that hit with a gentle gut punch that I’m not sure I bought...but I’ll allow it. I like Powell and Qualley in this smart, playful mode that isn’t pushing their personas directly in your face, but you still notice and appreciate them.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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