By Dan Skip Allen

I’ve been around quite a while. Well, more than half a century. I’ve seen a lot and done a lot in my lifetime. Is there more I would like to do? Sure. I think we all wish we could have done more in our lives, even those who have done a lot. Human beings’ appetite for more is something that will always keep us wanting more and more. Whether it’s beautiful women, cars, homes, money, or other exuberant things. “How to Make a Killing”  asks the question: What would you be willing to do to get the success and financial stability you think you deserve. Would you kill to get all that you deserve. That’s the million dollar question. This film poses these questions and more.

Becket (Glen Powell) is a man who works for a high-end clothing store. He’s happy with his life despite his mother passing away to an unmentioned illness. The only thing he remembers about her is that she told him that he will inherit a fortune someday. After running into an old childhood flame, now an adult, Julia (Margaret Qualley), she brings this up to him. This gets him thinking about what he would be willing to do to get rid of the people in his way of getting the inheritance he believes he deserves. It’s more complicated than he realizes, but he doesn’t know whether or not he’s willing to do what it takes to do the deed. If I were in his position I’d have a hard time doing this as well.

Director John Patton Food used a tried and true formula to help tell this story. A framing device featuring Powell’s  character giving his last confession to the prison priest. He starts at the beginning and talks about his mother and his love for the girl who got away. Also how the matriarch of the family played by Ed Harris sent his mother away because she was pregnant with him and how they were disowned from the family. Even in these circles, I think this was a bit harsh. Especially since what happened after the pregnancy changed both Powell’s character and his mother. The script is pretty solid if not a bit predictable. I think almost anybody would see where this story was going from the start. 

Besides the characters I’ve mentioned, the film is filled out with some other colorful members of the Redfellow family. Topher Grace, Zach Woods, and Faff Law all play some of the eccentric members of this family. They have reasons why they should die in the eyes of the Powell character. One character I liked the most was Bill Camp’s character. He was a businessman with good instincts, but he cared about people and especially his family. He takes Powell’s character in after he loses his mother, and the Camps character loses his son. Jessica Henwick plays a love interest and quite the one-note character, if I’m being honest. I would have liked to have seen more from her. Overall, the cast was okay, not great. A few standouts made the story flow better than it otherwise would have.

Powell has had a fantastic career the last few years working with directors like Richard Linklater, Edgar Wright, and Joseph Kasinsky. His film roles have been as varied as the directors who made them films he was in. The role of Becket Redfellow is a nuanced character unlike anything he’s done in his career thus far. He has to once again use disguises like he’s used in other film and television projects he’s been in in the past. Powell has made a name for himself despite having good looks as a guy who doesn’t mind wearing disguises in films. I don’t know if this hinders his career choices or not, but I like what he’s done in the past and recently. He’s very believable as this orphan who wants the good life and does whatever it takes to get it. His chemistry with Qualley and Henwick is also pretty good. I totally believed they’d have sexual chemistry with each other. I am pretty set on letting Powell be the next big leading man in Hollywood if that’s the way things work out for him.

One of the things about this movie is that it makes you think about your own life and what you’d do for success. Also, are you willing to pay the consequences for said success? I was thinking while watching the film whether or not I’d be willing to do what this man did to get the success he thinks he deserved. I think we all have a little bit of a questionable side to us or have done something in our lives that may have been a bit questionable. I am not a perfect human being, so I can admit I’ve done things wrong in my lifetime where I ended up in jail a couple of times. I might even be willing to kill if the essential was as high as the amount stated in this film. I’m just kidding, I don’t think I’d ever kill somebody for money. That would be crazy. 

“How to Make A Killing” is a film that will make you think a lot. It’s filled with decisions that are morally ambiguous. Yes, terrible things happen to some terrible people, but bad things happen to good people who make bad decisions as well. That’s the quandary with this movie. If you find yourself siding with the Powell character and his quest to get what he believes, you will probably like this film. Like I did. If you’re opposed to the questionable action that happens within the context of the movie, you will most likely not like the film. I think there is a lot to like about it regarding the acting by Powell and some of the supporting cast and the directing choices by Patton Ford. Like most A24 movies, this will leave you with more questions after you leave the theater. That’s a good film to me.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen