By Mahnoosh Arsalan
Staff Writer
An inheritance game turned into cold-blooded murder and the aestheticization of psychotic determination, Glen Powell unleashes his inner Patrick Bateman in John Patton Ford’s “How to Make a Killing,” a tale of a man disowned from his opulent family returning with one goal: getting the family inheritance. However, in order to actually inherit the gargantuan sum, each member of the family must die.
The story presents the generationally wealthy family of Whitelaw Redfellow, portrayed by Ed Harris. The film begins with his daughter, Mary Redfellow, being exiled from the family when she has an illegitimate child at 18.
Mary moves to Belleville, New Jersey, to raise her son, Becket, portrayed by Glen Powell. She makes Becket aware of the fortune he will one day inherit, a colossal $28 billion inheritance. She drills the idea into his head that no matter what, he should never give up on what he deserves.
Becket is ultimately inspired to murder each family member in order to inherit the family fortune. He will stop at nothing to live the life he and his mother should have lived, and begins his descent into madness.
Powell powerfully depicts Becket’s determination and intelligence. These two factors make the audience encourage his deranged behavior and hope for his ultimate success.
Supporting Powell was Margaret Qualley, a generational talent. Qualley plays Julia, Becket’s childhood crush, who reappears in his life throughout the murders. Julia is the one person in this movie even more unhinged than Becket. While Becket commits the murders, Julia schemes even harder. Qualley plays Julia with dedication. With an insane look in her eye, she embodies Julia perfectly and makes the audience question yet laugh at her presence.
It’s obvious in the film that initially Becket is very hesitant about the murders. While he curates his plans and feels the urge to commit them, he feels nervous and knows he shouldn’t do it. His fear quickly dissolves once the first murder is done, sending him down a spiral, soon consuming his life.
“How to Make a Killing” encapsulates rich ignorance and class struggles through romanticization. Killing your way to the top seems to be a new way of life. Comparatively, Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” highlights this theme as well.
While the performances of the film shined, Ford’s direction felt deficient.
A concise story along with stunning performances, the film almost deserves high praise. However, the film lacked a sense of vigor. It didn’t necessarily punch the way it could have, and didn’t feel strong throughout. With that said, it’s fair to say the film was fun and had the audience hooked.
Something Ford did right for this film were the aesthetics and the actual act of filmmaking. The cinematography excelled, as did the editing, masterful framing, color palette and deliberately immersive visual language. There is one specific scene in the film that really highlighted the characters emotions without a single word spoken.
The film was almost reminiscent of an Edgar Wright film, mixed with Darren Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing.” Fast-paced, action-packed and sort of romantic, “How to Make a Killing” follows the same formula.
“How to Make a Killing” was a fun concept with meaningful undertones. Powell is destined for a fun and crazy role, but it would be interesting to see him in something more solemn and dark. A change of pace, but a refreshing one. Ford’s directing was impeccable. It would be heartwarming to see him branch out to different kinds of films.
