How to Make a Killing

R • Theaters

How To Make a Killing is a Faustian morality tale from A24 that illustrates the idea that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. But while this slick black comedy has some appealing performances, it’s not quite dark enough or funny enough to be truly effective in skewering our society’s worship of mammon. In fact, it might contribute to it.

The movie is based on the 1949 film, Kind Hearts and Coronets, in which Alec Guinness played eight different characters from the same family, all doomed to die.

In this version, Glen Powell plays Becket Redfellow, the murderous main character. Becket’s deceased mother was raised in a rich and powerful family, but her father cast her out when, at 18, she became pregnant and ran off with a poor musician. Becket grows up hearing his mother explain he’s still an heir to the $28 billion Redfellow estate due to the terms of an irrevocable trust. The only problem is that seven family members stand to inherit before he does. Becket decides to bump them off, one by one.

Questions about the role of money in the good life swirl around this film. At one point, Becket brazenly states money buys happiness, but the audience isn’t so sure. His girlfriend Ruth, played by Jessica Henwick, is the most sympathetic character in the film, and she suggests the path to contentment involves serving others and “dreaming small.”

But Becket’s mother didn’t instill in him the desire to dream small. She told him not to quit until he achieved “the life he deserved.” The life he deserves? That’s an ominous notion. The more family members Becket kills, the closer he gets to what he deserves.

How To Make a Killing takes a lighthearted approach despite depicting the work of a serial killer. Powell’s Becket charms the audience, who begins to feel that maybe these rich relatives are getting what they deserve. As the noose closes around him, we start to hope that he finds a way to escape justice. For anyone who feels that the economic cards are stacked against them, the story offers a bit of revenge fantasy. The film winks at hatred for the moneyed classes that’s led to the likes of Luigi Mangione.

Language and some bloody images contribute to the R rating, though the objectionable content isn’t ubiquitous. There’s even a theological lesson about searing the conscience, though, of course, the characters involved actively try to sear their consciences in pursuit of wealth. But with its glib tone, I’m not sure this cautionary tale is cautionary enough for audiences to get the message.

I won’t spoil the film’s ending, but it’s bound to leave many viewers feeling dissatisfied. Folks who succumbed to Becket’s charm won’t get the happy ending they hoped for. Others who feel he needs to pay for his transgressions might not be happy either. Even so, the conclusion is strangely appropriate for a movie in which we see a man make a deal with the proverbial devil. In the end, Becket is trapped by his sins, and that proverbial devil takes what it wants.