Courtney Howard // Film Critic
HOW TO MAKE A KILLING
Rated R, 1 hour and 45 minutes
Directed by: John Patton Ford
Starring: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Topher Grace, Zach Woods, Bill Camp, Raff Law, Ed Harris, Nell Williams, Bianca Amato, Alexander Hanson, Adrian Lukis
HOW TO MAKE A KILLING could’ve greatly benefitted from turning up its tonal pitch one or two octaves. As is, John Patton Ford’s dark dramedy about a young man out to reclaim his inheritance through whatever dastardly means necessary is too grounded for its own good. It frequently forgets to have fun with its satirical, eat-the-rich concept. A very loose remake of KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (which itself is a loose adaptation of Roy Horniman’s novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal”), the film admirably attempts to mimic the tone of the KNIVES OUT films, but sadly misses the mark. Still, its three effervescent supporting players and one charming, chaste romance provide a notable boost from the prevailing doldrums.
We first meet a glib Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) during the narrative’s lackluster framing device as he’s wasting away in a jail cell, unburdening his sins to an attentive Father Morris (Adrian Lukis), detailing how he came to be awaiting execution. His mother Mary (Nell Williams) was disowned by her extremely wealthy father Whitelaw (Ed Harris) for giving birth to him. As a single mom, she devoted her time, energy and finances into making sure he took advantage of life’s finery like private education, clothing and archery, all whilst telling him he’s the lawful heir to a vast family fortune. Becket’s world changed though once Mary became terminally ill. But right before she died and he was whisked into the foster system, she made him promise he would never quit until he had the life she raised him to have.
It’s not until years later that Becket ponders his mom’s final request. During a chance reunion with former classmate/ childhood crush Julia (Margaret Qualley), the now-married leggy beauty jests he should call her once he’s killed all of his estranged relatives, giving him the idea to perhaps prune his family tree quicker than nature can take its course to reclaim his $28 billion inheritance. Another bonus? He’d be avenging his deceased mother. Complications arise during his murder spree, which include falling in love with his cousin’s ex-girlfriend Ruth (Jessica Henwick), becoming close with his surprisingly kind Uncle Warren (Bill Camp) and fooling the authorities who have begun to build a case against him.
Ford – whose directorial debut EMILY THE CRIMINAL is the legit business with its enlightened, stinging commentary on capitalism and commercialist thievery – comes up relatively empty handed in his flailing follow-up feature. Its anti-capitalist observations are superficial at best and rather pedestrian at worst. It’s all better executed in films like THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and TRIANGLE OF SADNESS. Even its social climbing sentiments come across as reductively channeling SALTBURN (which is also fairly reductive of Anthony Minghella’s aforementioned movie).
In Ford’s film, everything we’ve seen before is repackaged with a smirk and smile by Powell, who’s a handsome leading man, but not one who’s wholly believable as a put-upon, everyday man continually dealt short-shrift. The material casts him as an anti-hero with murky morals, but doesn’t allow him to bite into any meat. There’s barely any meat available. Why the filmmaker defaults on delivering the inherent drama and internal conflict of the character-driven scenarios (like choosing love over wealth), we’ll never know. Emile Mosseri’s jazz-pop fused compositions, sounding akin to a cross-pollination of David Holmes’ OCEANS ELEVEN score and The Dust Brothers’ FIGHT CLUB score, help to recalibrate the atmospheric pull of the snowballing circumstances.
Outside of his mean grandfather, Becket’s relatives are depicted as a brood of docile dopes instead of apex predators, which serves as an interesting change of pace. However, we never sense any hunger or passion behind Becket’s quest. He doesn’t have to do much work to satisfy his goals, introducing finance party bro Taylor (Raff Law), photographer Noah (Zach Woods), philanthropist Cassandra (Bianca Amato) and pilot McArthur (Alexander Hanson) to their deaths. We want to see him tear apart corrupt, nepotistic institutions and yet we never get those satisfying sequences.
Despite poor narrative delivery hobbling much of the heightened hijinks and emotional core, performances from the film’s supporting players genuinely elevate the bland shenanigans. Qualley is fantastic as the conniving, noir-esque femme fatale, strutting and slouching in chairs in pristine Chanel ensembles. She’s deceptively funny and slippery, gifting her character with a kinky, dark edge especially in scenes where she dominates Becket (her primary modus operandi). Henwick is tasked to be the beating heart and soul of the picture. She’s graceful, vulnerable and sincere – the real deal, highlighted in beautiful Movie Star Moments when she emerges from a foggy, warmly lit street or when a downpour of rain stops when she appears. Topher Grace, who plays Becket’s ostentatious, arrogant megachurch pastor cousin Steven, understood the assignment, playing his all-too-brief appearance as campy and over-the-top.
Our hero is supposedly a good guy forced to do what’s morally wrong to make things right – only his actions are never really justified and rarely does he struggle with any consequences even in the final minutes. We’re supposed to question if Becket is actually a decent man or if he’s worse than his spoiled-rotten relatives when the answer is pretty clear he’s the latter. That he becomes prisoner to his own materialistic desires is inevitable and the journey the story takes to get us there lacks the gut-punch needed to make what passes for a 3rd act twist (the reveal of what landed him in the big house) land. When provided the opportunity to go in for the kill, it’s disappointing the film does not do so.
Grade: C–
HOW TO MAKE A KILLING opens in theaters on February 20.
