‘HOW TO MAKE A KILLING’ REVIEW: GLEN POWELL STARS AS A TAME AMERICAN PSYCHO
words SONNY NGO
With Twisters, Anyone but You, and most recently The Running Man, Glen Powell has been steadily gracing the silver screen as a leading man. But while tinseltown’s attempts to make him a major box-office draw have yet to materialise, his performance in John Patton Ford’s How to Make a Killing does serve as a thorough reminder of his appeal and charm. His magnetism, however, isn’t enough to fully carry the film. Loosely based on the 1949 Kind Hearts and Coronets black comedy, Killing follows a similar premise but fails to live up to expectations as it discards elements of what made the original so extraordinary.
image via imdb.com
Powell plays Becket Redfellow, the lowest member of the ultrawealthy Redfellow dynasty. Prior to his birth, his mother was kicked out of the family due to an out of wedlock pregnancy, though she – and Becket – remained in the family’s will. Although they grew up poor together, Becket’s mom ensured that he was raised with the necessary posh upbringing, including fancy kids’ parties and archery lessons. When she passed away, she left Becket with a final piece of advice: don’t stop until you have the “right kind of life.” Without support from the Redfellows, Becket found himself slaving away in a clothing store. And so he worked, and worked, and worked. But his diligence was only rewarded with a demotion into the warehouse as one of the higherups’ nepobabies was set to take his spot. The final nail in the coffin was a nothing short of embarrassing encounter with his childhood crush Julia (Margaret Qualley), who happened to be covered head-to-toe in Chanel. Enough was enough: Becket decided to change course and murder his seven cousins standing between him, the inheritance, and the life he deserved.
His first kill was quick and easy: his half-drunk fratboy cousin Taylor was offed during a boat party. It’s from this moment onwards that Becket worms his way into upper middle life. He attends the family funeral and connects with his estranged uncle, who naturally owns an investment bank, securing himself a way into the financial world. Surprisingly, for a movie advertised as a slaughter fest, the rest of the film spends little time exploring the other murders. There is one more rigorous scheme to kill his cousin Noah – an ostentatious artist – during a dinner get-together, but the remainder of the family is swiftly killed off in a drive-by montage. It’s a shame, because these moments could have further fleshed out Becket as well as the internal Redfellow dynamics. Fortunately, the screentime was given to Qualley’s Julia, a captivating femme fatale who turns out to be an equally conniving Machiavellian. The back-and-forths between her and Becket are a joy to watch: it’s like seeing a cat and dog exchange jabs at each other – though of course in the end, there can only be one victor.
image via imdb.com
Many themes addressed in the film remind me a great deal of American Psycho, but How to Make a Killing sadly lacks the finesse and pizzazz of the 2000s cult classic. Becket’s monologuing is reminiscent of Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman, but whereas Psycho’s clever and sharp writing allowed Bateman to flourish, the screenwriting in Killing does not have the same elevation to make Becket as compelling a character. That’s not much to do with Powell’s starpower energy, nor is it a dig at Ford’s intentions, but when the movie operates in a milieu in which American Psycho is so culturally embedded, the parallels are bound to come up. But let’s say connecting Psycho to Killing is a bit of a stretch, even returning to the film’s largest inspiration, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Killing still does not compare to the cynical wit, sharp social satire, or simple campiness of its predecessor. Coronets, for instance, saw legendary actor Alec Guinness play all eight members of the D'Ascoyne family (the 1949 version of the Redfellows). I wish Ford had leaned more into the ridiculousness of it all, because it would have given the actors more room to experiment, play, and be more interesting. Powell and Qualley do the best they can – and indeed they are charming – but maybe I am mourning a film that could have been even greater on an emotional and technical level. With the already ginormous catalogue of black comedies centering a power hungry man (and, or woman), there is little that makes How to Make a Killing stand out from the rest. But it’s a fun, and enjoyable watch nonetheless, something you’d gladly watch with friends and family – perhaps that’s good enough too.
How to Make a Killing is screening in cinemas now.