How to Make a Killing

A modern American adaptation of the 1949 British Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, the film that took inspiration from Roy Horniman’s 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, How to Make a Killing is a tale of greed, murder and karma all wrapped in a Glen Powell-shaped bow. With his mother disowned by her wealthy family at the birth of her son, Becket Redfellow (Powell) grows up in poverty and makes it his mission to get revenge on his estranged relatives, stopping at nothing to reclaim the inheritance that is rightly his. Enacting a plan that devilishly involves a lot of trickery, deception and murder, Becket slowly makes his way up the family tree, all the while doing what he must to keep the FBI off his tail.

Through the narration of Powell as he confesses his crimes to a priest on death row, director John Patton Ford takes one of the simplest of premises and turns it into a creative web of action and laughter. Powell, who seems to be ubiquitous at present in Hollywood, oozes charisma as the leading man, once again proving he has the talent, wit and looks to pull off such a complex role. Supported by a colourful cast of performers including the likes of Ed Harris, Bill Camp, Jessica Henwick and Zach Woods, the film ticks along, never taking itself too seriously, but doing just enough to build some level of depth to the plot.

The wide range of caricatures that make up the Redfellow family, from a televangelist (Topher Grace) to an artistic hippy (Woods), make this film an enjoyable thrill ride, but other roles leave less of an impression. How to Make a Killing does at times rely on style over substance, with slick cinematography countered by a rattling-through of the middle-order Redfellow family murders with little repercussion, something even Becket addresses in disbelief.

Then there is the character of Becket’s childhood friend, Julia Steinway, portrayed by Margaret Qualley. For right and wrong, this character grows insufferable, and until much later in the story, when we have sat through endless substance lacking scenes, there are serious question marks over her real relevance. There is little chemistry between the two of them despite the efforts to portray her as some sort of femme fatale with Becket’s heart in her hands, and it is as though their friendship is being thrust upon us just so the final chapter makes sense.

The movie doesn’t quite sell Becket’s hardships well enough to make us truly empathise with his intentions of murdering his estranged family members purely to become rich. We feel forced to side with Becket, even though in reality he is committing the most terrible sins imaginable. Being very pernickety, the FBI also prove pretty useless and surely in the 21^st century, there is no plausible way that Becket wouldn’t get caught committing his crimes on camera or through DNA?

Despite these flaws, How to Make a Killing does make for an enjoyable couple of hours if you want to grab some popcorn, unwind and simply have a laugh.