In a world where capitalism has taken hold of nearly every aspect of our lives, it makes sense that the “Eat the rich” subgenre of film has been such a hot commodity, especially within comedy. The issue is that what can be fun when executed uniquely has become stale and trodden in recent years, with each film offering more repetitive ideas than the last. How To Make a Killing is the latest example of a work riding a fine line between frustrating mediocrity and genuine charm, keeping it from being a complete waste. Writer/director John Patton Ford only occasionally provides interesting tidbits of characterization throughout, offering very little that hasn’t been executed infinitely better elsewhere. However, thanks to a solid cast, a slick look, and yet another effortlessly charming lead role from Glenn Powell, How To Make A Killing is just barely fun enough to make its subpar depth more tolerable.
The film opens with Becket Redfellow (Powell) imprisoned and set to be executed for the crime of what else but murder, as he calls for a priest to confess his life story in what he thinks are his final moments of living. It turns out Becket was supposed to live under the same roof as the wealthy Redfellows, whose last name he bears. Becket’s mother (Nell Williams) was firmly cemented as a part of the family tree until she had sex with her future partner and became pregnant with Beckett, and was forced to leave the estate by her father, Whitelaw Redfellow (Ed Harris), who refuses to have another child cared for there.
After getting booted out of the family, Becket’s mother tries her best to care for him as a single parent, but passes away from an illness, leaving Becket as a foster kid with his only dream being to inherit the riches that he’s owed, according to his mother. Years later, Becket has grown, thinking about the life he’s owed and the seven relatives standing in the way of his $38 billion dollars. After a run-in with his childhood crush, Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley), Brecket begins to formulate a plan to carefully murder all his relatives in increasingly clever ways, working his way up the corporate ladder to win the life that he’s always dreamed of.
How To Make A Killing, from its opening moments, doesn’t shy away from showing the deep-rooted sadness of Becket’s upbringing, and it’s a firm foundation to place the basis of his motivation in, so it’s a shame that most of the story beats don’t stray too far from the recycled nature of other eat the rich style stories.
Not only is the thematic idea of gaining more status and power pretty basic in itself, but even the “killing the competition” angle suffers from coming out so close to a much sharper societal satire, No Other Choice (2025), which nearly has the same premise. Obviously, lifted ideas can work when there’s enough ingenuity behind them, but the screenplay never delves further into wealth vs. happiness, and it’s frustrating because there are points where Ford scratches the surfaces at something more, but not nearly enough.
Where the film is able to overcome its more frustrating elements is through its great cast, which brings more fun to a tired screenplay. Powell has more than proved himself as a great star and provides a nice enough charm to make the film’s narration framing device work, but I was more impressed with how the rest of the cast elevates the written material. Qualley is deliciously playful as Julia, using her screen presence to bring effective seduction and twisted energy to her character, always two steps ahead of Brecket’s planning and using it to her own advantage.
The rogues’ gallery of oblivious rich elites we see within the Redfellow family tree, especially Topher Grace and Zach Woods, is funny to watch within their bumbling idiocy, but Jessica Henwick as Ruth is a great supporting anchor here in spite of limited screentime. Henwick’s role of the unaware partner is also a standard in many films of this same vein, but conversations between Henwick and Powell are where the commentary is at its most interesting. The butting perspective of Becket finding genuine love with the only character in the narrative not occupied with making more or not having enough, but being content with where she is because it makes her happy, and that takes more bravery than literally anyone else in the film would care to admit.
If you’re looking for a more biting satire, How To Make a Killing isn’t exactly the sharpest of knives you could pick up from the drawer, but it provides just enough laughs and thrills to get the job done amidst its formulaic structure. It’ll hardly make a killing for most, but the charms of Glen Powell make it a solid enough time, even if its fate to end up lost at sea within the “eat the rich” playbook is inevitable.
Review Courtesy of Joshua Mbonu
Feature Image Credit to A24