How to Make a Killing (dir. John Patton Ford)

by Jack Martin | Mar 11, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 105 mins

UK Distributor: Studiocanal

UK Release Date: 13 March 2026

WHO’S IN HOW TO MAKE A KILLING?

Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, Ed Harris, Bianca Amato, Raff Law, Sean Cameron Michael, Alexander Hanson, Stevel Mark, Phumi Tau, Adrian Lukis, James Frecheville, Nell Williams

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

John Patton Ford (director, writer), Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin and Adam Friedlander (producers), Emile Mosseri (composer), Todd Benhazl (cinematographer), Harrison Atkins (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

After being disowned by his wealthy family, Becket (Powell) sets out to murderously reclaim his inheritance…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON HOW TO MAKE A KILLING?

In the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, a loose adaptation of Roy Horniman’s early 20th century novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, Alec Guinness played no fewer than eight separate characters, all members of an obscenely aristocratic family who were humorously bumped off in increasingly ludicrous ways. It was a gimmick that helped set the precedent for later comedic actors like Peter Sellers, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers to take on numerous roles within the same movie, and aside from it now serving as the basis for writer-director John Patton Ford’s even looser remake How to Make a Killing, that’s all it’s truly remembered for.

Unfortunately for Ford, his film is destined for a similar fate. While it lacks the multi-character casting of Kind Hearts and Coronets, it still struggles to define itself beyond a premise that ends up having little of value to say in today’s world, where its lessons are obvious and its targets even more so, leaving it to take a relatively easy but ultimately forgettable path.

We are first introduced to our protagonist Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) in a prison cell, hours away from execution. How he ended up here is a story he relays to a priest (Adrian Lukis) that is also told to us via flashback, beginning with his mother Mary (Nell Williams) being exiled from her incredibly wealthy family after becoming pregnant as a teenager. Becket grows up being told by her that he is one day destined to inherit the family’s multi-billion-dollar fortune, so long as he somehow becomes the sole heir amongst his numerous affluent cousins, which include pretentious photographer Noah (Zach Woods), scandal-engulfed evangelist Steven (Topher Grace), and reclusive patriarch Whitelaw (Ed Harris). After waiting patiently for nature to take its course, Becket decides that the only way to get what he thinks he deserves is to kill the remaining Redfellows himself one by one, so beginning a murder spree that becomes complicated when he enters a relationship with Noah’s girlfriend Ruth (Jessica Henwick), and even more so when he runs into childhood friend Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley).

Ford, previously of the more effective money-centric crime thriller Emily the Criminal, is clearly aiming for a darkly comedic tone that satirises the nature of entitlement as well as the sharp class divide within our everyday society. The problem, though, is that his script feels at least five years too late, long after many other movies from Parasite to Triangle of Sadness to The Menu have adopted the whole “eat the rich” mentality in much smarter and more unique ways than How to Make a Killing does, which by comparison comes off as a paler imitation. Its themes and messages are more than obvious by this point, conveyed by characters who fit pretty much every wealthy stereotype in existence, draining the material of significant bite as well as any true shock value with the darker elements, including the murders that Becket commits, lacking any real inventiveness or sharp wit because we know exactly what it’s trying to say before it even has a chance to say it.

The film isn’t really funny or charming enough to transcend beyond its obvious subtext, which is saying something because the casting of Glen Powell, a naturally playful and charismatic actor, as out semi-reluctant murderer is a stroke of genius. Powell does good work here, elevating the material with his genuine on-screen magnetism that, much like in Hit Man, allows him to have chemistry with virtually everyone he acts opposite, from love interest Henwick to femme fatale Qualley to even Bill Camp as one of the only family members who actually seems like a decent and honest person. But sadly, he and his fellow talented actors can only take a script like this so far, as it lacks a punchiness that should make Becket’s plight much livelier than it ends up being, with it instead feeling somewhat lethargic in how it structures the character’s shockingly easy rise through the family ranks, creating a bunch of holes in the narrative that you think would quickly be filled by modern technology but alas go unnoticed for plot convenience.

It’s not an awful film, for it is handsomely made with Ford evoking a slick 60s-inspired framework in the overall aesthetic, and as mentioned the actors are certainly good at making it all decently watchable. The ending, as well, gives the film a satisfyingly bittersweet note to bow out on, and had there been more moments like this all throughout, maybe there would have been something to it after all. But instead, How to Make a Killing is a disappointment that relies too heavily on overly familiar themes and far less on developing its own trajectory, opting for a surprisingly safe and inoffensive skewering of wealthy elites that rarely gives itself a reason to be seen over the numerous other movies that convey these types of messages in cleverer and more satisfying ways.

Although this film didn’t particularly need an Alec Guinness equivalent to come in and play multiple roles, it could well have at least made it feel a little bit fresh in this rather cutthroat market of “eat the rich” cinema.

SO, TO SUM UP…

How to Make a Killing is a well-made but ultimately disappointing entry in the “eat the rich” catalogue of darkly comedic satires aimed at the sharp class divide, with writer-director John Patton Ford opting for overly familiar themes and tropes that deny his film a sense of freshness, despite the valiant efforts of a talented cast led by a reliably charismatic Glen Powell.