HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (2026)

How to Make a Killing joins the pantheon of ‘eat the rich’ films that have proliferated in recent years. Unfortunately, this outing is arguably the tamest, laziest, and most tedious of the lot. Inspired by the classic Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), the film struggles to be as sharp or as compelling as it intends.

We are introduced to Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) as he sits on Death Row, unburdening his conscience to a priest. Through a rather smarmy narration, he explains that his mother (Nell Williams) was a Long Island heiress, exiled by her father (Ed Harris) after falling pregnant as a teenager. Following her early, penniless death, Becket is left to navigate a mundane life as a retail assistant. Despite his modest circumstances, he was raised to move comfortably in affluent circles, armed with all the social graces required to woo the elite—skills that, unsurprisingly, come in handy later.

When his childhood sweetheart and local socialite, Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley), re-enters his life and questions why he hasn’t yet claimed the Redfellow fortune, he is galvanised to act. There is just one catch: he must dispose of eight relatives before the inheritance is his.

The premise is timely in a society where the ultra-wealthy flaunt their riches with abandon, but the execution is let down by pedestrian writing and a disjointed script. The film relies heavily on a smug voiceover to dictate plot points rather than demonstrating the wit to show us. Furthermore, it shows little interest in humanising the family members before their dispatch, leaving us with a succession of thinly sketched caricatures, tired tropes, and underwhelming deaths.

The targets include finance ‘bro’ Taylor (Raff Law), Brooklyn hipster artist Noah (Zach Woods—the only actor seemingly aware he’s in a comedy), and megachurch pastor Steven (Topher Grace). There is immense untapped potential in these scenarios, yet we spend so little time with these grotesque figures before they are consigned to a casket that it feels like a missed opportunity.

How to Make a Killing is a hollow tale. It breezes through potentially entertaining scenarios, relegating the murders to bland montages of characters we never truly get to know. While Grace and Woods provide the closest thing to tangible performances, they vanish all too quickly. The film would have benefited from slowing its pace to allow the audience to understand who these relatives were and why they deserved such a fate.

There is no morality play here, no biting satire, and precious few laughs. At times, the screenplay teases something wittier, but it never ascends beyond the occasional mild quip. Many of the comedic choices, such as a pastor wielding a samurai sword, feel merely eccentric rather than humorous. It is a pity, as the film could have been a brilliant pastiche of the haves and have-nots.

Devotees of Kind Hearts and Coronets will likely be unimpressed by this conventional retelling. It mimics the plot beats of the original but possesses none of its charm, largely because Powell fails to replicate the masterclass of character work delivered by Alec Guinness. It’s baffling, too, given that in Hit Man (2023), Powell displayed a impressive range of disguises and charisma; here, however, he offers a flat, overly serious performance.

He struggles to command the screen—a problem his co-star, Margaret Qualley (The Substance), doesn’t share. She offers a turn suited to a much zannier, funnier film, resulting in a jarring mismatch of energy. Fortunately, Powell demonstrates better chemistry with Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections), who plays his love interest and serves as the closest thing to a grounded, relatable character.

Written and directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), the film is a lazily scripted effort that expects us to root for a cold-blooded killer—to the point that you find yourself sympathising with the grotesque billionaires instead. Becket is simply too unlikable to root for, particularly when much of his violence feels accidental and is relayed through his own self-congratulatory confession. Ultimately, the film has nothing meaningful to say about generational wealth or our collective lack of fulfilment, despite the script’s half-hearted attempts to touch upon these themes.

Not as sharp as The Menu (2022), as clever as Parasite (2019), or as spirited as Ready or Not (2019) and Knives Out (2019), How to Make a Killing is a lifeless addition to the genre. With meagre laughs and predictable satire, it’s a shame that Patton Ford couldn’t quite decide on a tone or a message; there was, after all, significant potential in dragging this story into the 21st-century.

UK • FRANCE | 2026 | 105 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: John Patton Ford.
writer: John Patton Ford (inspired by ‘King Hearts and Coronets; itself based on the novel ‘Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal’ by Roy Horniman).
starring: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace & Ed Harris.