Loosely based on the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, How To Make A Killing follows Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) who, at birth, was disowned by his extremely wealthy family. But an average run of the mill life isn’t good enough for Becket anymore. He takes matters into his own hands and decides he’ll do whatever it takes to reclaim what is rightfully his.
I think it’s pretty clear by now that I will watch anything that Glen Powell is in. As soon as I heard about this film, I knew I needed to see it. I love a good dark comedy after all. While it doesn’t offer anything new to the genre, it was undoubtedly still a fun time at the cinema.
Powell is great as our protagonist. He’s just got this effortless charm to him that he’s able to inject into each of his roles. This character fitted him well. Wanting pay back for those who have wronged him had the audience rooting for him from the beginning. Another stand out in the cast was Margaret Qualley who portrays Becket’s childhood friend and crush Julia. When Julia bursts back into Becket’s life, everything changes. On paper, it may seem like Julia is the complete opposite of Becket, but what they have in common more than anything else is that they refuse to give up on what they want. It’s obvious that Qualley is having a blast in this role as she is absolutely diabolical. Jessica Henwick also shined as Becket’s fiancee Ruth. She is quite possibly the only normal part of Becket’s life though I love how she was a strong and individual character in her own right.
While there are an array of other characters the audience do not really get a chance of getting to know them well. Becket needs to go through seven family members before claiming his inheritance, but we only get to know a few select players. Zach Woods starred as Noah, one of the cousins. We get to know him the most – an artist who Becket cozies up to, he also gets close to Noah’s girlfriend Ruth. There was a somewhat memorable sequence with Topher Grace’s pastor Steven as well as the inevitable showdown between Becket and his grandfather Whitelaw portrayed by Ed Harris. We barely had any time with the others and that was a pity.
The film was a bit more on the predictable side. There were a couple of twists here and there, but for the most part it was pretty much what you see is what you get. I feel like had they gone just that extra step further it would have elevated to a whole new level. Giving more of a voice to the side characters, ramping up the kills and really leaning into the camp that I know is there would have helped tremendously.
Overall How To Make A Killing is a solid popcorn flick. It’s got a fabulous cast, an intriguing storyline and it’s old school vibes. There have been plenty of eat the rich films in recent years and while this one depicts that to a tee, it left me yearning for something more.
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️
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