HOW TO MAKE A KILLING

Becket finds murder surprisingly easy, starting with drowning his cousin Taylor (Raff Law, TV's 'Masters of the Air', 'Twist') on a party yacht and making it look like an accident. After cosying up to Taylor's father at the funeral, he manages to snag Taylor's job on Wall Street and begins climbing the corporate ladder. But getting a "real job" and a steady income isn't enough for him anymore, and Becket soon finds that he has developed a taste for some slick murder now that he has gotten a step closer to the family inheritance.

Moving down the list, he dispatches the Redfellow family members with homemade old school solutions – think off-brand Walter White kitchen chemistry. For the privileged nepotism-funded artist Noah (Zach Woods, TV's 'Silicon Valley' & U.S. 'The Office'), he orchestrates an explosion in his film developing lab. For the showy tax-evading pastor Steven (Topher Grace, 'American Ultra', 'The Big Wedding'), he squirts poison into his drink via a fake pen. The Redfellows are capitalist, rich, white people archetypes, and Ford doesn't beg you to sympathise with them. On one hand, these archetypes are indeed salient critiques of modern-day nepo babies. On the other hand, perhaps we've simply seen too many of these characters in the media (real and fictitious) to make Ford's interpretation of them any interesting. Being 8th in line to the throne means a long hit list – and the film starts to sag under the weight of the task of getting through each family member. 

Margaret Qualley gives the best and most memorable performance of the film by far, as the seductive and dangerous Julia who keeps Becket on his toes. The film truly hinges on her character, and a few delightful twists await in the third act as Becket digs himself deeper into his mess. Jessica Henwick's presence is always welcome, gracing the big screen playing Becket's sweet working-class girlfriend Ruth, the antithesis to Qualley's wealthy Julia.

Overall, 'How to Make a Killing' is serviceable. While the film chugs along steadily for the most part, it lacks the slick style of the murderous 'No Other Choice' or the wildly entertaining stereotypes of the über-wealthy in the 'Knives Out' franchise. At its best, the film is a mildly entertaining and funny dark comedy, with pops of colour from supporting characters like Wood's Noah or Qualley's Julia. At its worst, the film is an overtly complicated and uninspired ploy for Powell to audition for the Patrick Bateman role in a remake of 'American Psycho'.