Film review: “HOW TO MAKE A KILLING” by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
Comedy thriller How To Make A Killing is a loose remake of the wonderfully misanthropic 1949 Alec Guinness classic Kind Hearts And Coronets. While pacy enough to be watchable throughout, this take on the tale of murderous ambition and vengeance starring Glen Powell feels tonally messy and never matches the wit or invention of its predecessor.
Powell plays Becket Redfellow, the illegitimate child of a woman (Nell Williams) shunned by her uber rich father (Ed Harris). Having lived in poverty with his single mother, Beckett discovers, after her death, that he is still technically in line to inherit the family fortune. All he has to do is knock off the seven family members who stand between him, the loot and a world of super yacht luxury. As he starts to chop away at the family tree, though, each killing brings unexpected consequences which include a romance with a victim’s girlfriend (Jessica Henwick), a Wall Street job, a femme fatale stalker (Margaret Qualley) and the attention of the FBI.
Because Becket is, in a slightly twisted way, the hero of the story, his methods for disposing of his relatives can’t be too gruesome or malicious. The killings consequently are more Horrible Bosses than The Abominable Dr Phibes which also means they aren’t especially inventive or memorable.
Powell is typically reliable but at times a bland screen presence. He’s too good looking, confident and decent for a role that needed someone with a dark undercurrent, a touch of creepiness and moral complexity. Consequently, the film lacks the acerbic flavour it needed.
With so much focus on Powell, the supporting cast simply aren’t given enough screen time to have much impact. Margaret Qualley is a magnetic presence when she’s on screen but she just pops in and out of the film and her character’s motives remain fuzzy. Ed Harris is his usual imposing self in the all too brief time in which he appears and the film would have benefitted from him having a bigger role.
The film vaguely hints at the corruption and unfairness of America’s supposedly non-existent class system but Trading Places back in the 80s made a more profound statement about socio-economic inequality in America.
How To Make A Killing isn’t riotously funny, especially clever or thrilling and only just manages to engage us enough in Beckett’s scheme to hold our attention for what these days is a fairly concise 105 minutes.
Nick’s rating: **1/2
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Thriller.
Classification: M.
Director(s): John Patton Ford.
Release date: 5th Mar 2026.
Running time: 105 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.
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