By George & Josh Bate
Glen Powell can do no wrong, apparently. The Texan actor who burst on the scene with his standout performance in Top Gun: Maverick has taken the industry by storm in the years since, headlining Richard Linklater’s brilliant crime comedy Hit Man and the rom-com box-office smash Anyone But You with Sydney Sweeney. With a wealth of career directions at his disposal, Powell has seemingly opted against the superhero or big-blockbuster franchise route many actors in his position would take without a second thought. Instead, he seems more interested in dabbling in more provocative and subversive projects. Last year, this decision saw Powell star, co-create, and produce the offbeat Hulu comedy series Chad Powers and lead Edgar Wright’s rapturous remake of The Running Man. Now, the Austin native makes another unexpected career move, starring in an A24 remake of an iconic film ripe for a reimagining.
From Emily the Criminal writer and director John Patton Ford, How to Make a Killing follows the tumultuous journey of Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell). Disowned at birth by his ultra-wealthy family, Becket lives his life under the radar with a lowly job and in an old duplex until a request from his dying mother (Nell Williams) and the reemergence of a childhood friend (Margaret Qualley) convince him to take drastic steps to claim the inheritance he believes he deserves. One-by-one, Becket plots to kill every family member who is ahead of him in the line of succession, an audacious plan that changes the trajectory of his life.
Although not overtly advertised as much, How to Make a Killing is a remake. Ford’s film is described as a loose adaptation of the 1949 British film Kind Heart and Coronets, but this description woefully undersells just how closely the film mirrors the plot beats and themes of the Ealing Studios classic. Those with prior exposure to this oft forgotten black comedy will immediately recognize that the new A24 film begins on the exact same note as the 1949 film, with our lead character recounting what led him to be hours away from execution, and proceeds to replicate and modernize every aspect of its predecessor with razor sharp wit and expert filmmaking. In this sense, an equally apt title for How to Make a Killing could be “How to Make a Remake.” If Gus van Sant’s Psycho and Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes reside on one spectrum of quality of remakes, Ford’s film sits firmly at the opposite point. Other studios and filmmakers should pay attention to Ford’s work here – this is the exact kind of movie that warrants a remake and this is exactly how you craft a great remake.
As the best remakes do, How to Make a Killing remarkably improves upon its source material in key areas, namely pacing. With tight editing that leaves not a moment wasted, the film propels forward in rapid, although never overwhelming, fashion. Every scene, every line of dialogue, every facial expression, and every shot serve a distinct purpose in the context of Becket’s story and imbue each moment of the film with urgency and importance. This is the kind of viewing experience that proves endlessly entertaining. The kind of film that, even if you feel the urge to pop out to use the bathroom or refill your soda, you remain firmly seated, because you simply can’t miss a single second of the relentless entertainment before your eyes.
The propulsive pacing works perfectly in translating a nearly century-old British film to contemporary America. With a lead character never satisfied with where he’s at in life, Ford’s movie feels distinctly American. Powell’s Becket has internalized and subsequently become disillusioned by the age-old American sentiment that hard work pays off, which eventually leads him to turn to murder as his salvation. What could be more American than that?
Brought to life with effortless charm by Glen Powell, Becket Redfellow makes a genuinely compelling lead to follow. The film sports such a delectable premise ripe for thrills, tension, and a dose of morbid humor, all of which Powell nails with his performance. In other hands, a lead character systematically murdering all of the family members that are in the way of him obtaining immense wealth could create a barrier to empathy and groundedness, but Powell plays Becket with such relatability and charisma that it’s difficult not to root for him, even as he becomes increasingly emboldened to commit murder.
Powell’s performance operates seamlessly within the tone Ford strikes. Irreverent but always grounded in reality, How to Make a Killing takes itself seriously enough to ensure that the stakes and intensity are felt palpably. Other filmmakers may have dabbled too much in comedy with this material, but Ford exercises restraint in never turning his film into a laugh riot. His movie is certainly witty and, at times, laugh out loud funny, but, for the most part, it ensures its dark sense of humor never becomes unwieldy.
The sole exception to this point is Margaret Qualley. The Emmy nominated actress known for her roles in The Substance and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood plays Julia Steinway, Becket’s childhood friend who reenters his life in a time of need. Qualley is an excellent actress (one only needs to glance at her filmography from the last five years to see how many stellar performances she’s produced). However, her turn in How to Make a Killing feels like it belongs in a different movie and her sporadic appearances in the story represent the closest thing Ford’s film gets to a lull.
Nonetheless, with its wit largely in check and a phenomenal premise as a foundation, How to Make a Killing further captivates in giving the audience a front-row seat to the wrongdoings of an undeniably likable individual. Whether it be Taxi Driver, Dexter, American Psycho, or other similar films and shows, there’s something exhilarating about a film that unfolds from the perspective of an antagonist. Ford borrows from Martin Scorsese and Mary Harron’s classics in making the viewer feel like they are complicit in the crimes of the leading man we’re following and, even more fascinatingly, lulls us into rooting for someone committing objectively terrible crimes. It’s a difficult balance as audience empathy and investment in the character could easily dissipate at a moment’s notice, but Powell’s irresistible amiability and the delightfully detestable nature of the family members his character targets ensures that we never cease having a blast as the bodies continue to drop.
It’s a testament to Powell’s performance that such empathy and investment amidst the squandering of a true emotional focal point. How to Make a Killing starts by establishing the familial backstory of Becket Redfellow, which begins with his grandfather’s (Ed Harris) decision to cut Becket’s mom out of the family after she gets pregnant out of wedlock at a young age. Brief flashbacks show endearing interactions between Becket and his mom, and Becket carries around a locket with his mom’s hair throughout as a reminder of his desire to attain the wealth she was wrongly deprived of, but the film never takes full advantage of the potentially emotionally rich material at its disposal. In turn, Becket’s mom serves as an entry point into the story, rather than the emotional backbone it spawns from.
A similarly weak emotional punch comes from the romance between Beckett and Ruth, his new girlfriend played by Jessica Henwick. Both Powell and Henwick are terrific and charming performers in their own right and yet they surprisingly lack romantic chemistry here. Without such a spark between Beckett and Ruth, the plot beats intended to evoke emotion in the third act fall flat.
Without striking much of an emotional chord, How to Make a Killing nonetheless mesmerizes to the very end. Like its source material, Ford’s film features a number of clever twists and turns that take the story and our lead character in interesting directions. Viewers who haven’t seen Kind Hearts and Coronets will likely be surprised, while those that have will delight in how well the twists translate to contemporary cinema.
VERDICT: 8/10
How to Make a Killing reimagines the 1949 British film Kind Hearts and Coronets with razor sharp wit and expert filmmaking. In his new film, writer and director John Patton Ford provides a crash course in how to meticulously remake a movie as he simultaneously replicates the plot beats and themes of the original while modernizing them and, ultimately, even improving upon the Ealing Studios classic. Unfolding at a propulsive pace, Ford’s film is relentlessly entertaining – the kind of film that, even if you feel the urge to pop out to use the bathroom or refill your soda, you remain firmly seated, because you simply can’t miss a single second of the entertainment before your eyes. Glen Powell continues to show that he can do no wrong with a performance that leans on his effortless charm to ensure audience investment and empathy in a morally corrupt character never dwindles. Powell operates wonderfully within the tone of the film, which is irreverent but always grounded in reality. The same unfortunately can’t be said for co-star Margaret Qualley, who delivers a performance that belongs in an entirely other movie. Nonetheless, the film excels in giving viewers a front-row seat to the wrongdoings of an undeniably mesmerizing character, much like Taxi Driver and American Psycho, and culminates in a strong ending, albeit one that cements its overarching difficulties provoking much emotion. How to Make a Killing? More like How to Perfectly Make a Remake.