How to Make a Killing review: A disappointing dark comedy
The “eat the rich” genre has been seriously overdone, but I still love it when done right. How to Make a Killing seems like it has the recipe for success – great cast, stellar concept – but it is unfortunately just fine.
Glen Powell stars as Becket Redfellow, the son of a woman disowned by her wealthy family for having him as an unmarried teenager. Despite not being a part of the family, Becket is set to inherit the entire Redfellow fortune once the others die. So rather than wait for that to happen naturally, Becket decides to speed up the process by killing off his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandfather.
John Patton Ford‘s dark comedy thriller, loosely inspired by 1949’s Kind Hearts and Coronets, is framed around Becket telling his story to a priest hours before he is executed. This means that the film relies heavily on exposition and narration, which can get tiresome after a while, and it takes away some of the suspense because we already know that he gets caught and ends up in prison. However, it’s not as predictable as you might think and there are some unexpected turns along the way.
The biggest problem is that we barely meet the Redfellows before they are killed off. For the most part, they have one introductory scene and then they’re gone, and there are a couple of deaths that I literally can’t remember because they are so unremarkable. However, there are a few that stand out. Zach Woods gets the most to do as Becket’s hilarious artist cousin Noah, while Topher Grace has a small yet scene-stealing part as a megachurch pastor inexplicably dressed like a young Justin Bieber. They both bring the comedy, which is sorely missing elsewhere, while Ed Harris brings the thrills as the head of the family, and Bill Camp is the nice uncle Warren.
How to Make a Killing is a silly film and you have to suspend your disbelief that Becket would get so far into his plan. Tonally, the film should have leaned into the absurdity more, but it’s neither funny nor thrilling enough. Also, I would have liked Powell to play Becket as more of a psycho, but the actor is so nice and likeable that you basically want him to succeed. He’s smug and charming when the part could have done with more bite. Elsewhere, Margaret Qualley is a femme fatale character who flaunts her amazing legs a lot and puts Becket in an awkward position, and Jessica Henwick grounds the story as his sweet, normal girlfriend Ruth, who doesn’t aspire to be wealthy.
I loved the concept and the game cast, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I don’t expect a dark comedy about killing your family to be particularly deep, but there’s really not much going on beneath the surface. It lacks that special sauce that makes something great, and we’re ultimately left with a film that is just fine.
In cinemas from Wednesday 11th March