John Patton Ford’s How To Make A Killing arrives disguised as a revenge thriller, but what unfolds is something far more sly, strange, and darkly delightful. Loosely inspired by the 1949 classic Kind Hearts and Coronets, the 2026 film swaps aristocratic Britain for modern American excess and delivers a wickedly funny meditation on class, greed, and the intoxicating pull of generational wealth.
The story opens with Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) awaiting execution, calmly recounting how he ended up there. Through his narration, we’re taken back to his childhood: the estranged grandson of an obscenely wealthy dynasty that disowned his mother when she married beneath her station. Though cut off from the Redfellow billions by iron-willed patriarch Whitelaw Redfellow (Ed Harris), Becket is nonetheless raised with refinement – piano lessons, archery, elite schooling – as if preparing for a life he was never allowed to live.
When adulthood leaves him stuck in a modest New York tailoring job and haunted by what might have been, Becket discovers a legal technicality: he stands to inherit the Redfellow fortune… provided the seven relatives ahead of him are no longer in the picture. From there, Ford launches a deliciously controlled spiral into polite, meticulous, almost absurdly restrained murder.
Importantly, How To Make A Killing is not a blood-soaked rampage nor a blunt anti-capitalist screed. It’s a dry, impeccably timed comedy about ambition and entitlement. Becket’s methods are subtle – engineered “accidents” born of small weaknesses and personal failings rather than dramatic confrontations. Each death feels less like vengeance and more like a carefully nudged domino. The humor comes not from shock, but from precision.
Powell is the film’s secret weapon. He plays Becket as both calculating and painfully human – ambitious, yes, but also insecure and yearning. Powell leans into the character’s contradictions: the romantic who believes he deserves more, the opportunist who can’t stop himself once he starts. There are shades of his recent comedic work, but here he’s given room to explore something darker and more tragic beneath the charm. It’s arguably his most layered performance to date, balancing likability with a creeping moral vacancy.
The ensemble cast enhances every step of Becket’s ascent. Zach Woods is wonderfully ridiculous as an oblivious nepo-baby artist, while Topher Grace turns in a sharply satirical performance as a morally dubious mega-church pastor; the duo two of the aforementioned seven relatives. Margaret Qualley’s Julia, one of Becket’s long-time family acquaintances, is chaos wrapped in couture – seductive, calculating, and always one move ahead – while Jessica Henwick brings warmth and grounding as Ruth, a reminder of the life Becket could choose if he were capable of letting go.
That tension – between what Becket wants and what he might actually need – becomes the film’s emotional engine. How To Make A Killing isn’t interested in preaching about wealth redistribution or moral righteousness. Instead, it examines the personal cost of obsession. Becket doesn’t burn the system down; he desperately wants in. And that distinction gives the film its bite.
Ford keeps the pacing sharp and the tone consistent, allowing the satire to simmer rather than explode. The result is a film that’s consistently entertaining without sacrificing its thematic undercurrents. It understands that greed isn’t always loud or angry; sometimes it’s quiet, patient, and dressed impeccably.
By the time Becket reaches the top of the Redfellow food chain, the question isn’t whether he deserves the money, it’s whether it was ever worth the climb. The film suggests that wealth may grant access and status, but it offers no protection from emptiness – or consequences.
With its razor-dry humor, tight storytelling, and a career-high turn from Powell, How To Make A Killing proves that sometimes the sharpest comedies are the ones delivered with the straightest face. It may not be the eat-the-rich satire some audiences expect, but it’s a clever, stylish, and thoroughly entertaining ride all the same.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
How To Make A Killing is screening in theatres in the United States from February 20th, 2026, before opening in Australia on March 5th.
