★★★½
Dark comedies about wealth, class and murder are hardly new territory. Saltburn and The Talented Mr Ripley have made class envy fiction all the rage. They have rarely felt quite as uncomfortable as they do in How to Make a Killing, the latest film from writer-director John Patton Ford.
The film arrives with an interesting lineage. It is loosely inspired by the 1949 British classic Kind Hearts and Coronets, the celebrated Ealing Studios satire about a disgraced aristocratic descendant who murders his way up the family succession line. That earlier film remains one of the sharpest comedies about class hypocrisy ever made, and famously featured Alec Guinness playing eight members of the doomed aristocratic family.
Ford’s modern update retains the central premise while shifting the tone and cultural context. The protagonist, Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell), is the illegitimate descendant of a wealthy dynasty who decides to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his. Like the original film’s Louis Mazzini, Becket faces a long line of relatives standing between him and the inheritance.
Ford originally wrote the script more than a decade ago under the title Rothchild, a project that sat on the industry’s famous Black List of unproduced screenplays. Development stalled several times before Ford eventually directed the film himself after the success of his debut feature, Emily the Criminal.
That earlier film thrived on Aubrey Plaza’s ability to play a morally ambiguous protagonist who remained oddly sympathetic. Here, Ford attempts something similar, but the casting choices shift the tone in unexpected ways.
Glen Powell plays Becket as a blend of charm and sociopathy. At times, he recalls Dexter Morgan; at others, he echoes Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. It is an intentionally unsettling performance. The problem is that Powell’s star persona works against the satire.
Powell has spent the last few years being positioned as Hollywood’s new leading man. He carries the energy of a conventional action hero. Ford even joked in interviews that Powell resembles “Captain America crossed with a golden retriever.” That makes him an unusual choice for a character whose moral compass is meant to drift steadily into darkness.
The original Kind Hearts and Coronets succeeded partly because Dennis Price’s performance leaned heavily into dry absurdity. The film was ruthless about class but never lost its playful satirical tone. How to Make a Killing struggles to find that balance. It oscillates between pitch-black humour and straight-faced thriller. That tonal uncertainty shapes the film’s biggest issue.
In Ford’s story, most of the Redfellow family members are unpleasant in one way or another. They are privileged, selfish or morally dubious. But they are rarely monstrous. That leaves the audience in a strange moral vacuum. It becomes difficult to root for anyone.
The exception is Jessica Henwick as Ruth. She brings warmth and humanity to the film and quickly becomes the emotional anchor of the story. Whenever she appears, the movie finds a steadier footing.
Margaret Qualley, meanwhile, continues her remarkable run of scene-stealing performances. Qualley has the rare ability to dominate a scene without appearing to try. Even in relatively brief appearances, she adds unpredictability and sharp intelligence to the film’s energy.
There are other highlights scattered throughout the ensemble. Zach Woods and Topher Grace are particularly effective as obnoxious members of the Redfellow clan. Both actors understand that the film works best when it leans into its satirical instincts.
Ed Harris also brings gravitas as the family patriarch Whitelaw Redfellow; he’s stepped straight out of Westworld. His presence helps anchor the story’s broader themes about wealth, legacy and moral compromise.
Ford has said he did not want to make a film that simply declares “rich people are bad.” Instead, he explores a darker philosophical question: where does morality come from in a world that increasingly replaces religious authority with economic power?
One line in the film captures this tension. A character recalls a piece of ruthless business advice: “Your only enemy is your own conscience. If you can turn that off, you can succeed.” It is both brilliant and horrifying. The entire film unfolds inside that contradiction.
That thematic ambition is admirable. But it also makes the film feel slightly uneasy in the current political climate. At a time when public anger toward corporate elites is intensifying, a movie about murdering wealthy relatives inevitably carries uncomfortable echoes. The satire sometimes drifts close to endorsing the idea that society has become a predator-versus-predator battlefield.
Ford is a filmmaker interested in moral ambiguity. His characters often believe they are victims of unjust systems. They respond by becoming something worse.
In a world already full of anger toward wealth and power, How to Make a Killing asks a dangerous question: if conscience is the only thing standing between ambition and violence, what happens when people decide to turn it off?
The film never fully answers that question. But it lingers long after the credits roll.
How To Make A Killing is in cinemas nationally from today. Check your local cinemas for screening details.
Website: https://a24films.com/films/how-to-make-a-killing
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Watch the trailer below:
Film details:
Title: How To Make A Killing
Director: John Patton Ford
Cast: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, Ed Harris
Country of Origin: USA
Duration: 109 mins
Rating: M
