by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
Expectations can be crucial to how we view a film. There’s nothing more exhilarating than an out-of-nowhere surprise, nor as deflating as an anticipated disappointment. How to Make a Killing is neither of these. It is merely what I expected, and that, in this case, is not necessarily a bad thing.
The latest from writer/director John Patton Ford of Emily the Criminal fame, the film follows Beckett Redfellow (Glen Powell), a distant heir to the immense Redfellow fortune despite the fact that the family essentially disowned his mother when she chose to have him and has never been a presence in his life. However, when he gets it in his mind to bring himself closer to being the recipient of said fortune, by knocking off the nominal family members standing in his way, we have the makings of a movie.
How to Make a Killing’s strength lies in the fact that it knows what its strengths are and plays the hits. You need only to look at the key players to recognize this. There is perhaps no one in Hollywood who can pull off charisma as convincingly or consistently as Powell right now, and the movie knows this. We, as the audience, want to root for him (and therefore his character) and it doesn’t take a lot of convincing to get us there. In the world of the film, that means as he’s deceiving and conniving his way closer to the fortune, the other characters believe it too. And how can you not root for and think there’s a good guy underneath better than the rest of the uber-rich who abandoned his mother.
Powell’s not alone, though. Margaret Qualley, in the role of a former friend and crush from Redfellow’s youth, plays what can only be described as a very Qualley-esque character. There’s a bite while also an allure to her character that she’s pulled off time and time again. And while that had started to wear on me a bit, not working quite as well in projects like Honey Don’t or Blue Moon, there’s something about the alchemy of this particular project that makes it sing again. Similarly, Ed Harris as the family patriarch doesn’t have much screen time, but he does that intimidating Ed Harris thing that he does so well with great impact and at key junctures in the narrative. Like Qualley’s schtick, at times in other projects, it can seem a bit tired. For some reason, it works here though, and I’m not sure I can totally articulate why.
The tone, while satiric, isn’t overly sharp, but it fits the latest trend when it comes to “eat the rich” films. The tone has gone from simply “Don’t rich people suck?” to the more nihilistic, “Rich people suck, but it doesn’t seem to matter, does it?” It’s a message that certainly aligns with what the film is trying to say.
Despite how much I enjoy the formula and the fact that it allows the film to work for me on a certain level, it does also in the same breath put a cap on its ceiling. That “eat the rich” message I was talking about a second ago is weakened somewhat by the fact that each of the rich jerks are more caricature than character. While it helps the film get its point across, it sacrifices a bit of depth in doing so. Is it fun? Sure, but it’s also nothing you haven’t seen before. So, while that makes for an enjoyable experience (especially since, at 100 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome), it doesn’t do much in the way of challenging the audience.
Also, if I’m honest, I was looking forward to enjoying subsidizing Powell’s ongoing fascination with playing dress up, as he’s taken so much joy in previously with his characters in Hit Man and The Running Man. So, I was admittedly disappointed in the lack of fun costume work. A symptom of those pesky expectations I was talking about earlier.
While How to Make a Killing won’t be making any end-of-year top 10 best lists, it won’t land at the opposite end of the spectrum either. There’s an entertaining time to be had, so long as you go into it with the right level of expectation, So, sit back, relax, and let Powell do what he does best.
Rating: Liked It
How to Make a Killing is currently available to watch in theaters.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd