Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) is on death row and with hours until his execution, he recounts the events that led him to be in that situation to a priest. Explaining his complicated family – he was born to a single mother who was exiled from her affluent family – Becket shares the story of how he targeted his family to try and get his hands on their inheritance. What follows is a black comedy as Becket tries to balance living an ordinary life with carrying out a series of murders that he hopes no one will find out about.
‘How to Make a Killing’ is inspired by the classic 1949 British film ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’. The film under-performed at the box office taking only $21 million against its $15 million budget. It was the second box office disaster in a row for star Glen Powell after his remake of ‘The Running Man’ fell well below expectations. It’s hard to understand why audiences didn’t turn out for this film though as it’s the kind of role that Powell plays very well. Using every inch of his charisma, Powell effortlessly brings to life Becket and his character’s grievance against the family that abandoned him is understandable. Becket is a sympathetic character for audiences despite his actions being utterly reprehensible.
Initially inspired to start killing his family by old friend, and crush, Julia (Margaret Qualley), Becket stumbles his way from murder-to-murder and harbouring the hope that Julia might fall in love with him, even though she’s married to someone else. Things get complicated when Becket falls for Ruth (Jessica Henwick), the girlfriend of one of his cousins, especially as she has no clue what Becket is up to. As Becket continues to target his family members, Julia keeps popping up to cause havoc and mess around with him.
It’s fair to say that ‘How to Make a Killing’ isn’t as good as ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ but if you’ve never seen that film, I don’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy this film on its own merits. There is plenty of fun to be had with the wacky storyline, and Powell is fantastic as Becket; his performance alone is reason enough to watch the film. Given the film is a dark comedy, there are plenty of laughs to be had, and Maragaret Qualley is excellent as the scene-stealing, and chaotic, Julia. She has great chemistry with Powell and their scenes together are the best in the film.
An element that was lacking, for me, was the actual murders because you don’t get to see that many of them. After the initial ones, the deaths are set up and then the film cuts to the funeral. Maybe director John Patton Ford decided to do it this way to save running time, or maybe he didn’t feel it necessary to show them, but I think it would have added to the overall dark comedy feel. The final face-off between Becket and the family patriarch is very good, which just about makes up for the lack of on-screen deaths elsewhere in the film.
I reviewed the film from the 4K Ultra HD release, which offers a crystal-clear picture and superior audio quality. Sadly, the disc is completely without extras, which feels like a missed opportunity as I’m sure the studio could have dug out some featurettes or bloopers.
‘How to Make a Killing’ isn’t an award-winning film but it’s not trying to be, and honestly it doesn’t need to be. The film delivers almost two hours of entertainment, where you can switch your brain off and just enjoy what unfolds on screen. Glen Powell really should be one of Hollywood’s biggest leading men by now and I’m not entirely sure why he’s not. He’s earned his stripes and he’s proven he can carry a film, but his recent choices just don’t seem to be connecting with audiences. ‘How to Make a Killing’ is a solid film that delivers what you want it to, so if you’ve been on the fence about watching it, I recommend you give it a go.
Cast: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Ed Harris, Jessica Henwick, Topher Grace Director: John Patton Ford Writers: John Patton Ford (screenplay) Robert Hamer, John Dighton (inspired by ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’), Roy Horniman (novel) Certificate: 15 Duration: 105 mins Released by: STUDIOCANAL Release date: 27th April 2026 (digital), 8th June (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD) Buy ‘How to Make a Killing’ now
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