Director: John Patton Ford
Writers: John Patton Ford
Stars: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick
Synopsis: Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.
It’s hard to pinpoint just what is wrong with the new A24 film How to Make a Killing. The movie boasts an A-list cast, led by what was once supposed to be a megastar in waiting, but who has now delivered two box-office clunkers in a row, a potential star falling back to earth. Frankly, any time I see Glen Powell on screen now, I feel like I have to make a wish. However, at least Powell takes chances in a film that doesn’t know what to do with its wickedly delicious premise.
How to Make a Killing has its moments, but by the time the third act arrives, the execution fumbles and rushes, and the culmination comes across as a film without guts, especially for one with a money-first worldview. The ending never crescendos; instead, it offers a broad overview that panders to audience expectations. That is a strange choice for a studio that cut its teeth on bold, unconventional storytelling.
The Glen Powell vehicle builds toward total chaos and moral decay, only to refuse to enforce consequences and take the easy way out.
The story of How to Make a Killing is as old as time when it comes to Hollywood clichés. The film follows Becket Redfellow (The Running Man’s Glen Powell), a young man who was disowned by his family after his young mother, Mary (Blinded by the Light’s Nell Williams), chose not to have an abortion when her lover ostracized her in an attempt to get rid of the unwanted family scion.
However, not a day goes by that his mom doesn’t tell him stories of his blue-blood lineage to her blue-collar son. Mary made Becket promise to strive for the life he deserves. Unfortunately, Redfellow, shallow pockets and all, takes that too literally, wanting to make sure the heirs of today are gone tomorrow. Becket decides to kill the remaining seven heirs to the $28 billion fortune.
Things begin to get complicated, Byzantine indeed, especially when Ruth (The Royal Hotel’s Jessica Henwick), the girlfriend of one of Becket’s estranged, now-dead cousins, enters the picture. Also throwing her hat into the ring is Redfellow-lite’s best friend, Julia Steinway (Blue Moon’s Margaret Qualley), who wants to be an ivory opportunist and key conspirator in Becket’s plans.
Loosely based on Kind Hearts and Coronets, How to Make a Killing is from John Patton Ford, a critical darling after his feature film debut with Emily the Criminal. His sophomore slump lacks conviction, treating greed as a moral test rather than a behavior that cannot change. This is the moral of the story, something that cannot be turned on and off with ease. Instead, we have a script that rips off several movies as if this were a clean-out-the-fridge meal.
Powell’s Becket is essentially Patrick Bateman, in a film without the sharp American satire the first act promises. Qualley’s character is a cliché we have seen thousands of times before: a childhood friend returning for that long-awaited, delayed reckoning. Where is the capitalistic pig, cutthroat cannibalism we have come to know and love in films like Swimming with the Sharks, Glengarry Glen Ross, or even the recent Triangle of Sadness?
You know what I mean, where even a small taste of greed can send the most ethical person into a Wall Street tailspin? I can almost picture Alec Baldwin storming into John Patton Ford’s office, barking about closing, demanding a brass set from a Newton’s cradle as proof of consequence. To make matters worse, the actual murders are uninspired and lack cleverness, failing to push the envelope and matching the bland themes and subtext of Ford’s script.
If, for the love of money, is the root of all evil, especially in the times we live in, the pandering ending to How to Make a Killing is the coward’s way out.
You can watch How to Make a Killing in theaters starting February 20th!
