A24’s newest release, “How to Make a Killing,” directed by John Patton Ford, starts at the end. Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) is set to be executed in four hours, and glibly recounts his tale of woe on a priest (Adrian Lukis) through the bars of his cell. This opening scene establishes the film’s structure — Becket’s diegetic voiceover chronicles his criminal descent as he chases family fortune by murdering estranged relatives.
Loosely based on Robert Hamer’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” Ford transports the 1949 black comedy from Edwardian England to contemporary New York City. This adaptation treads the exact same steps plot-wise, but is much lighter — there are fewer infanticides and more murdered hipsters in Williamsburg. In fact, the film is at times tonally disjointed as it tries to find its footing. Is it a satire? How much does it want to engage in class commentary? Is it about a caper or a tragedy? Ford tries to, and sometimes does, emulate the first “Knives Out,” a modern masterpiece about the limits of upward mobility and the lies of an upper-crust family. But “How to Make a Killing” is not quite as funny or intelligent, even if it is incredibly entertaining.
The embittered Becket is a member of the notable Redfellow family, the result of a teenage dalliance for which he and his mother were shunned by the patriarch Whitehall Redfellow (Ed Harris). But while they were socially ostracized in Newark, the two remained recipients on an ironclad will. Becket was raised with the knowledge that if a handful of cruel relatives were to pass away, he would inherit roughly $28 billion and an East Egg estate.
Twenty years later, Becket is working retail in Midtown Manhattan when his coiffed, conniving childhood crush Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley) reenters his life. A true femme fatale, Julia represents the sort of life that is just outside Becket’s grasp. After their reunion, he ponders what would happen “If I were to prune a few branches from the family tree” and the homicide begins. The initial murder spree is absolutely comical — Becket targets a wide range of Redfellows from stereotypical finance bros to hipster artists and celebrity pastors. Along the way he reconnects with Julia, who quickly displays ulterior motives, and meets Ruth (Jessica Henwick), a down-to-earth English teacher with whom he shares a genuine connection.
The film’s most impactful commentary lies in Becket’s inability to quit while he is ahead. After the first kill, he reconnects with his kind-hearted uncle Warren (Bill Camp), who treats him like family and offers employment and financial security. Having miraculously executed one murder and with things looking up in every regard, the fact that he cannot walk away from the entire Redfellow fortune is baffling. There is opportunity for real substance here, but neither Powell nor the script fully establishes what drives the scorned scion. There is a throwaway line about how scary it is to dream small, and another about honoring his mother’s wishes, but the movie limits itself from true satire or black comedy by not fleshing out his motivations. In general, “How to Make a Killing” demands too much suspension of disbelief.
A similar issue appears in the treatment of the supporting characters, and in particular the women. Qualley shines in every role, but here her performance as a Machiavellian trust-fund kid exceeds the script. Similarly, the character of Ruth is quite two-dimensional. As an audience surrogate with an unwavering moral compass, she lacks depth and instead makes obvious comments on the pitfalls of wealth. “I liked you when you lived in Newark and took the bus,” she tells Becket earnestly. In their ultimate moment of confrontation, she does not even have dialogue.
That said, Powell is a compelling leading man. His performance is perhaps a bit one-note, but ultimately suave and charming — audiences cannot help but root for him and his quest for revenge. And after a lull in the middle, the film absolutely sticks the landing in the third act. It has a truly unpredictable plot twist characteristic of A24, and there is one excellent deployment of Chekhov’s gun. “How to Make a Killing” is not groundbreaking, but its compelling premise, tight 105-minute runtime and “Ocean’s 8”-style thrill — not quite “Ocean’s 11” — make it worth a watch.
