A toned body without training? Wealth without work? People like to look for shortcuts. And who can blame him? After all, the longing for quick happiness is in our nature – and when rules have to be broken, it often results in a particularly attractive story: the author Roy Horniman put one of these down on paper in an incredibly snappy and entertaining way more than 100 years ago in his novel “Israel Rank – The Autobiography of a Criminal” – and thus inspired the cult crime comedy “Nobility Obliged” in 1949 with its typically British humor of the deep black variety.
Even almost eight decades later, the material has lost none of its relevance or poignancy. That's why it's no wonder that writer and director John Patton Ford decided to remake the material after his acclaimed indie thriller debut “Emily The Criminal”. “How To Make A Killing – Tödliches Erbe” is a cleverly modernized version that still provides a lot of thieving joy – and in which the otherwise somewhat smooth shooting star Glen Powell (“A Killer Romance”) is finally able to show more rough edges.
Becket (Glen Powell) uses a variety of methods in his murderous inheritance smuggling campaign.
When young Mary Redfellow (Nell Williams) tells her extremely rich family that she is pregnant, she is met with little enthusiasm. Against the wishes of her strict father (Ed Harris), Mary decides to keep the baby – and is subsequently disowned. When she dies some time later, impoverished, she uses her last words to once again instill in her little son Becket that he should not give up until he has what he has actually been entitled to since his birth.
And that's exactly what Becket (now: Glen Powell) takes to heart years later. Things just don't turn out the way he would like in his life, and so he finally comes up with a perfidious plan. Little by little he wants to get rid of the seven relatives who are standing in his way of inheriting the proud Redfellow fortune – and is surprised at how easily he carries out the murderous activity. But of course the sudden accumulation of strange “accidents” does not go unnoticed…
Glen Powell is the backbone of the film
After his surprising global success with “Where the Lie Falls” and “The Running Man,” which recently fell short of expectations, “Top Gun 2” bully Glen Powell can now also prove his leading man qualities in “How To Make A Killing.” Thanks to his mischievous grin when he delivers the pointed dialogues – the script was already on the list of the best unfilmed scripts in 2014 – it's hard to resist the Texan's charm. Fortunately, his role doesn't come across as smooth this time.
The fact that Becket, who literally walks over corpses, remains consistently ambivalent until the end, despite remorse, makes him much more exciting as a protagonist than most of Powell's previous characters. Although we already get to know Becket in the first scene on death row, his nonchalant manner and the often cynical voice-over, sometimes reminiscent of fellow killer Dexter, ensure that we still keep our fingers crossed for him. Even his first murder, which was extremely funny due to its clumsiness, doesn't change that. The opposite is even more likely to be the case when a large proportion of his relatives turn out to be idiots or pure assholes.
Julia (Margaret Qualley) soon suspects that her childhood sweetheart Becket is keeping a dark secret.
But at the latest when the forgotten Redfellow scion meets his helpful Uncle Warren (Bill Camp), the machinations of the deadly inheritance hunter are openly questioned, not least by himself. Especially since at that point he has already made a rise that would actually give him a much better life. But of course Becket's journey doesn't end there. The prospect of the $28 billion estate and the interference of his calculating childhood sweetheart Julia (wonderfully nasty: “The Substance” star Margaret Qualley) make him continue on his chosen path, much to the audience's delight.
Because even if there is no question that Becket has long since exceeded the moral limits, you can always enjoy the wonderfully darkly humorous and increasingly sophisticated killing scenarios. The mixture of suspense and surprising twists is mostly successful here, as John Patton Ford doesn't reveal to us beforehand how Becket wants to transport his uncles, aunts and cousins into the afterlife. This is almost reminiscent of the unexpected absurdity of successful “Hitman” Let's Play videos. The running gag that always follows, a hard cut to the next funeral, also works the umpteenth time.
Endless twists
The prominent supporting cast in the Redfellow clan also plays a decisive role in the diabolical fun. The congenial casting trick from “Nobility Obliged” is dispensed with, in which the later “Star Wars” icon Alec Guinness embodied all (!) of the main character's targeted relatives. But wonderfully stupid performances like those of “The Office” whipping boy Zach Woods as a goofy wannabe artist and “The Roaring Seventies” cult star Topher Grace as a fraudulent television pastor definitely make up for it.
Given the sheer number of victims, not everyone leaves a lasting impression. But the noose around Becket tightens from various sides, with “How To Make A Killing” hitting a number of unexpected hooks up to the finale (which wears off a bit towards the dramaturgically somewhat overloaded ending). And everyone has to decide for themselves whether the prison analogy made in the last shot is really so apt.
Conclusion: “How To Make A Killing” cannot stand up to the direct comparison with the oversized role model “Nobility Obliged”. Nevertheless, the thriller-comedy is a nice biting pleasure, especially thanks to Glen Powell, who contrasts the serial killer ruthlessness of his role with his usual sonny-boy charm.