How to Make a Killing has a lot of elements you've seen in other movies and TV shows. These include Glen Powell playing a master of disguise, an image-obsessed megachurch pastor acting ridiculous, and an intense chase through a mansion where someone is shot by a bow-and-arrow.
While the second feature from John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal) may not be more than the sum of its parts, the parts are still solid! And Powell continues to be charming and compelling enough to carry this film that's occasionally a little wobbly, but never less than entertaining.
Ford's inspiration is Israel Rank: Autobiography of a Criminal. That novel is more than a century old and inspired the classic comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. But the story itself is timeless: cut off from the his obscenely wealthy family, a working-class dude begins eliminating all the distant relatives who sit between him and a vast inheritance. A story like this, even a dark comedy, necessitates that our protagonist is mostly good and his kin are mostly evil. Even if the satire on display isn't particularly fresh or sharp, there's great joy to be found in seeing rich pricks get killed off in increasingly creative ways.
But the film does have a couple tricks up its sleeve. One is in making Powell's Becket increasingly unrelatable as he ascends into the world of high society. At a certain point, he has more money than most of us could dream of. But he keeps pushing for more and more, letting greed consume him. The other is introducing Margaret Qualley's Julia, one of the few people who knew Becket before he had money. She's a pure femme fatale, turning her long friendship with Becket into a twisted power struggle. It's another element that may be familiar, but it's well done.
And I haven't even mentioned the murderer's row of great supporting actors, including Jessica Henwick, Zach Woods (who got the biggest laugh out of me), and the always terrific Bill Camp. They hit all their notes perfectly, as do Topher Grace and Ed Harris, who have to go a bit broader.
Glen Powell really has the juice as a leading man, even if that hasn't translated to big box office returns. It remains to be seen if How to Make a Killing will make a killing. But Powell continues to be an unstoppable force in terms of charm. He can even make these dusty threads look good.
