In the latest film How to Make a Killing, Glen Powell takes on the challenge of a disguise-heavy role, but the movie struggles to find a consistent tone despite its notable cast, which includes Margaret Qualley, Bill Camp, and Jessica Henwick. Set against the backdrop of a deadly family inheritance battle, the movie aims to blend satire and noir but ends up leaving the protagonist’s identity unclear, which weakens the story’s impact.
Glen Powell’s Familiar Role of Disguise and Its Limitations Here
Glen Powell has built a distinctive reputation for roles involving clever disguise, from his leading role covered in elaborate makeup in the TV series Chad Powers to his covert appearances in films such as The Running Man. His approach to acting emphasizes the transformative aspect of embodying different characters as a way of exploring deeper truths about identity. This philosophy was explicitly expressed in Hit Man, a film he co-wrote, where the act of masquerading unlocks a path to understanding oneself.
In How to Make a Killing, Powell revisits this concept by playing Beckett Redfellow, a man who dons various disguises to maneuver through members of his wealthy, effete family in pursuit of a $28 billion inheritance. Yet unlike previous successes in disguise roles, these personas fail to add compelling depth or coherence, ultimately becoming a dead-end in the film’s satirical and noir elements.
The Film’s Narrative Framing and Character Development Issues
The movie adopts a confessional framing device, drawing from both the classic Ealing Studios comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets and its literary source Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal. Beckett narrates his death-row confession to a priest, admitting to the deaths of seven relatives standing before him in the line of family succession. However, this exposition-heavy approach sacrifices the development needed to understand why Beckett resorts to such extreme actions, leaving his character largely unexplored.
This narrative shortcut stands in contrast to more engaging character studies and removes the emotional complexity that might otherwise have given weight to Beckett’s murderous spree.
The Socioeconomic Backdrop and Its Missed Potential
At its core, How to Make a Killing gestures toward critiques of capitalist ambition and family legacy obsession. Beckett’s background reveals that his mother, involved with a wealthy Redfellow heir, raised him with the expectation he would live “the right kind of life.” This pressure can be seen as driving his ruthless climb toward inheritance, where murder becomes a logical extension of survival and success within a cutthroat society. The symbolic name of his grandfather, Whitelaw (played by Ed Harris), offers a subtle nod toward this critique.
Despite these elements, the film largely avoids the comedic nuance of its British predecessor. Its tone wavers between sharp satire and heavy moralizing but rarely manages to successfully execute either, opting instead for a slow-paced mystery thriller.
Genre and Tone Struggles Dilute the Lead’s Impact
The movie’s pacing is deliberately languid, with extended scenes that aim to build suspense but also mute Powell’s natural sharpness and wit. The actor’s charm, a vital asset in his other disguise-related roles, diminishes amid the film’s heavy atmospheric weight and lack of brisk dialogue.
The film’s inability to balance humor and darkness is further compounded by thin socioeconomic commentary. Unlike director John Patton Ford’s previous effort, Emily the Criminal, which included nuanced details about current economic issues such as the student debt crisis, How to Make a Killing paints with too broad a brush, failing to ground its critique in specific realities.
Challenges of Adapting a British Classic for an American Setting
The source material’s British class system origins do not translate seamlessly into the American context of this film. Whereas Kind Hearts and Coronets focused on upper-class aristocracy and noble titles, Beckett’s motivations in this remake center on accumulating wealth rather than status. While the lead character’s New Jersey roots provide some hints of geographic and social tension, the film stops short of a deep exploration of the socio-political forces behind such rivalries.
Consequently, the movie’s attempt at a one-to-one substitution of British class consciousness for American wealth fails to capture the complexities of the original. For comparison, Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice provides a more authentic spirit of the source material, revealing just how much How to Make a Killing struggles with its international setting and thematic translation.
The Film’s Uneasy Balancing Act Between Characters and Themes
John Patton Ford appears caught between genres, continents, and tonal directions throughout the movie. The narrative swings between moments of mockery and serious moral reckoning as Beckett’s killing spree exposes the callousness tied to extreme privilege. Yet the portrayal of the wealthy characters falls into stereotyped caricatures—Raff Law plays a reckless party boy, Zach Woods takes on the role of a hapless artist, and Topher Grace embodies a megachurch preacher—obscuring any fuller human complexity.
At the same time, Jessica Henwick’s character, a humble schoolteacher and Beckett’s love interest, injects an earnest emotional counterbalance, but the film never fully reconciles these conflicting tones or successfully leverages both sides of its thematic duality.
Moments of Insight amid an Otherwise Uneven Execution
The nearest glimpse of deeper emotional grounding occurs during Beckett’s brief tenure working in the company run by his benevolent uncle Warren (Bill Camp). Beckett’s narration reveals how at ease he feels among professionals who profit by taking small percentages from others’ fortunes. This candid admission strips away some of his mock charm and hints at a darker self-awareness.
Powell’s quieter, more dramatic performance is convincing in these scenes, but unfortunately, the film does not provide him with a sturdy character foundation to develop further, limiting the effect of his moments of subtlety.
Reflection on the Film’s Central Moral Question
As Beckett nears execution, a prison chaplain attempts to comfort him with Psalm 23, but the film might have benefited from a more probing spiritual inquiry. The question Jesus poses to his disciples,
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
encapsulates the film’s failure to examine its central character’s inner life or moral struggle. Without meaningful insight into Beckett’s soul, the movie leaves its audience detached and reflective only of its surface-level events.
Release Information and Anticipation
How to Make a Killing opens in theaters on Friday, February 20. Despite its stellar cast and Glen Powell’s continued exploration of disguise roles, the film’s inconsistent tone and underdeveloped protagonist may limit its lasting impact within the inheritance thriller genre.
