I need Margaret Qualley to back off the crime movies, because between this and “Drive Away Dolls,” it’s not been a great run in the genre.
Rather than the focusing on her, though, “How to Make a Killing” centers on Glen Powell’s character Becket Redfellow. A blue-collar worker in New York City, Becket appears to come from, at best, a middle-class background. However, he’s tied to a family with immense wealth, and remains in the will, meaning a fortune is possible.
Yet he’s not exactly first in line to receive anything. In fact, he’s far from it, more like fifth or sixth. Knowing his family abandoned his own mother leaving her to fend for herself, Becket decides to take matters in his own hands, and knock off heirs to put himself in a better position. But while he thinks he’s in the clear, a person from his past starts to suspect him.
I’m sure A24 will release some good movies this year, but its recently distributed “How to Make a Killing” isn’t one of them. The film has an unearned smugness, because it’s not nearly as smart as it thinks it is. It’s a shame, too, because it’s a big step down for writer/director John Patton Ford, whose freshman effort “Emily the Criminal” was a 2022 honorable mention.
Unfortunately, his sophomore effort is a total disappointment. The film’s attempts at dark comedy often fall flat. Nearly all of it centers around mocking the extravagant, self-indulgent or self-important lifestyles of the wealthy, but so much of it is delivered with little more than simple observation.
There’s a lack of bite in its satire, especially compared to other movies in the last decade covering excessive lives of the rich and class divides, such as “Parasite,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Knives Out” and last year’s brilliant “No Other Choice.” “How to Make a Killing,” meanwhile, just feels like it’s picking low hanging fruit.
An example is one of the wealthy relatives being a stoner who bought his way into the art world. That’s pretty much the entire gist of what’s meant to be the humor, simply that these rich people are douche bags. Ok, sure. And?
It also doesn’t help that practically all of Becket’s targets are nasty individuals, so there’s little in terms of emotional conflict for the protagonist. He, nor the audience, is ethically challenged.
That leads into another issue, with the character’s arc feeling rather uninspired. Whether wealth is a power corrupting Becket or revealing who he always was, it doesn’t really matter, because the journey is just lacking in cleverness and endearment. It also doesn’t help that it all takes place with constant smarmy narration thanks to the movie’s framing device.
That’s not to say the acting for the character is entirely poor. Powell is making a strong push in trying to find some level of balance with the character’s shifting psyche, though the material doesn’t help. Jessica Henwick is also good in a supporting role, as is Academy Award nominee Ed Harris. Qualley, though, adds little to the picture, mostly just holding the same blank expression for most of the flick.
Cinematographer Todd Banhazi, who also shot 2019’s “Hustlers,” partnered with Ford for this project, as did “Emily the Criminal” editor Harrison Atkins. The result is a visual mixed bag for viewers. It’s at best serviceable, but their effort rarely adds a flair to enhance the suspense or humor.
At best, “How to Make a Killing” has a few solid performances and a bit of entertainment value which keeps a viewer’s interest for the relatively short runtime. However, it offers nothing groundbreaking, either. It simply doesn’t standout, and that’s a problem when so much is delivered as if it has something important to say. 2 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 