'How To Make A Killing' Is A Screwy Social Satire That Falls Just Short Of The Mark

"seems like it's tailor-made for our current era of " eat the rich" satire. A hangdog hero, cutting a bloody, righteous swath through an obscenely wealthy family of privileged ingrates? Sounds satisfying as hell! And in many ways, it is. But thanks to Glen Powell's charms and a built-in audience bias against the ultra-rich, How to Make a Killing manages to mostly get away with murder."

"There's something a little old-fashioned about How to Make a Killing, which adopts almost beat-for-beat Kind Hearts and Coronets' rules of succession, despite taking place in contemporary America versus 20th-century British aristocracy. But logical fallacies are the movie's bread and butter, once you realize that it operates by the heightened rules of blackly comic farces typical of the '60s like Dr. Strangelove or Drop Dead Darling."

"That much becomes clear when Becket strolls into the debaucherous coastal party of the youngest Redfellow, Taylor (Raff Law), without so much as a security check, and manages to drown the drunken partier with a carefully placed rope and anchor. From that point, Becket becomes a professional killer practically overnight, crafting increasingly elaborate ways to murder his relatives - whether it be discreetly poisoning protein shakes, infiltrating private air hangars to commit some light sabotage, or creating makeshift bombs."

Becket Redfellow, played by Glen Powell, stands to inherit vast wealth and chooses murder to secure his place. The film adapts Kind Hearts and Coronets' succession rules to contemporary America, sending Becket on a rapid, inventive killing spree that includes drowning, poisoning, sabotage and bombs. The tone splits between pitch-black comedy and a softer satirical strain, creating a tonal dilemma that blunts the premise's sharpness. The movie embraces logical improbabilities and the heightened rules of 1960s black farce, with clear nods to Dr. Strangelove and Drop Dead Darling. Powell's charisma and audience antipathy toward the ultra-rich help the film mostly succeed.

Read at Inverse