Glen Powell is Killer in ‘How to Make a Killing’

How far would you go for $28 billion?

This is the question at the core of the Feb. 20 release “How to Make a Killing.” 

The thriller-satire stars Glen Powell as Becket Redfellow, the son of a mother disowned by her extremely wealthy family due to her teenage pregnancy. Despite the disconnect from his family, Becket is eighth in line for the entirety of the family’s estate. 

This ludicrous sum of money would change anyone’s life — especially a lonely blue collar man like Redfellow. Frustrated by his lower class, Redfellow concocts a scheme to gain the inheritance by eliminating all the Redfellows in front of him until he’s the last one standing. 

The title, “How to Make a Killing,” is a simple yet ingenious double entendre. Firstly, the film is about Redfellow “making a killing,” or a lot of money. It’s also literally showing the audience “how to” go about killing someone. 

The film itself lacks the title’s creativity. The plot draws comparisons to many corporate satires like “American Psycho” or Park Chan-Wook’s recently released “No Other Choice,” but lacks their intense stylization and humor, failing to provide a fresh take on the genre.

Straddling the line between fun pulp and intelligent critiques, the film isn’t accomplished enough at either to fully warrant its existence, but is competent enough at each to not be an outright failure. 

“How to Make a Killing” isn’t without its charms, mostly thanks to Powell (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Anyone But You”).

Powell operates in a very similar mode to the character he played in “Hit Man,” an oft-disguised, effortlessly charming yet morally murky hero. The key difference is that “How to Make a Killing” fails to fully capitalize on Powell’s comedic abilities in the way “Hit Man” did, but the actor still turns in a charismatic leading man performance. 

On the surface, Redfellow is a horrible person — a money hungry killer with no regard for others — but Powell’s winning nature allows the audience to look past these bad deeds and see him as a hero. 

Starring next to Powell is Margaret Qualley playing Julia Steinway, Redfellow’s childhood crush that surprisingly re-enters his life. Qualley (“The Substance,” “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”) is a talented actress who portrays a bafflingly incoherent character in this movie. 

At times she appears to be modeled after a character like Amy Dunne from “Gone Girl” — a smart, psychotic, sexy mastermind — but at other moments she’s more akin to a stereotypical childhood sweetheart filled with longing and warmth. These two realities don’t successfully coexist, muddying many of the potential nuances of the narrative.

These inconsistencies are a product of the script more so than Qualley, although she does feel miscast next to Powell. The two lack chemistry, handicapping the film throughout. 

Powell does, however, have chemistry with Jessica Henwick, who portrays the unhappily married Ruth in a performance similar to Cristin Miloti’s masterful work in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” 

Like “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “How to Make a Killing” is a corporate satire centering around a protagonist who makes morally questionable decisions throughout, and Ruth’s romantic storyline with Redfellow adds to his questionable moral compass. 

The other notable supporting performance comes from Zach Woods as Noah Redfellow, a daffy failing musician who, while only on screen for a short time, gets nearly all of the laughlines and knocks them out of the park. 

Woods (“The Office,” “Silicon Valley”) deserves much credit for this character, as does writer-director John Patton Ford. This film is Ford’s second directorial effort, a follow up to 2022’s somewhat critically successful thriller “Emily the Criminal.”

Ford writes an intriguing, watchable premise that provides an obvious roadmap for the story. The plot is constructed around the seven killings, but the movie itself is fairly unconcerned with the deeds themselves, moreso turning them into quick visual gags rather than the focus of the story. 

The script continuously takes surprising twists and turns. Those plot points, while often straining credulity, do keep the audience constantly on their feet as they try to guess what could happen next. 

As a director, Ford brings necessary stylization to the film, his keen sense of pacing and energy proving necessary for a thriller. With that said, he doesn’t seem to fully grasp what sort of tone he’s trying to accomplish with this movie. 

Given the exciting premise and the alluring performance from Powell, it could’ve been interesting to see this movie made by a more established writer-director better equipped to  handle some of the less considered characters and plot points throughout the film. 

While the film is a mixed bag in terms of success, Powell proves yet again why he’s one of the most exciting, interesting stars Hollywood has to offer. His presence is undeniable and makes an otherwise basic movie worth seeing. 

“How to Make a Killing,” rated R, is in theaters now.