How to Make a Killing

I never had the love for Glen Powell’s “Hit Man” that most people did. The set-up and the wit were all wonderfully entertaining and the chemistry between Powell and Adria Arjona was off the charts, but the “happy” ending was too dark to fit the world of the rest of the film. The same issue creates even bigger problems with Powell’s new film, “How to Make a Killing,” inspired by the classic “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” with Alec Guinness playing eight roles, all relatives who were killed off, one by one, by a wily schemer. The multiple roles gimmick is fun, but that film, a Criterion Collection gem, works because it is an outstanding example of a black comedy. This one should have studied it more closely.

Like the original, this one begins with the hero/anti-hero in prison, waiting for his execution. Powell plays Becket Redfellow, whose mother was disowned by her very wealthy family when she became pregnant at age 18 and refused to have an abortion. His father died when he was an infant, so his mother raised him alone for a few years until she died, making him promise he would do whatever it took to have the “right life,” he deserved. By “right” she meant the wealth and prestige of her family. But when Becket, still a child, asked if his mother could be buried in the family mausoleum, the butler handed him a note with a “polite” refusal that wished him well.

As a child, Becket had a crush on Julia (Margaret Qualley as an adult). In Great Expectations fashion, they are separated for years and then meet again. He is still enthralled by her, but she is engaged to a man who shares her social cachet. She turns down his offer to get together to catch up and makes a joke about how Beckett should kill off those ahead of him in line to inherit his grandfather’s multi-billion dollar estate.

And then Beckett starts to kill off those ahead of him in line to inherit the estate. (Conveniently for the plot, the entire estate automatically goes to whoever is next in line.)

This gives us a chance to meet the relatives, who are all arrogant and selfish and not that interesting. There’s a partying finance bro, a pretentious artist, and a woman who brags about adopting 11 children from different countries. Topher Grace brings some vitality to his role as something between a prosperity gospel huckster and a personal empowerment huckster. One of the relatives turns out to be a decent guy, but he conveniently dies of natural causes. Cut to yet another scene in front of the family mausoleum.

A movie that asks us to root for a ruthless (note the name of a key character) serial killer needs a consistent, heightened, satiric tone and very sharp and specific characters. Think of a film like the original British version of “Bedazzled” (the Brendan Fraser remake is pretty good, too). The actors here seem to be coming from different movies. It should also have clever crimes. Like the characters, the crimes here are bland, and like “Hit Man” the end is unsatisfying and sour. Even a very black-humor-based movie has to have some kind of moral core. This one is just empty.

Parents should know that this film involves a series of murders of family members. Characters drink alcohol, smoke tobacco and weed, and use very strong language.

Family discussion: What is the “right life?” Why were the members of this family so selfish?

If you like this, try: “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” “Gross Pointe Blank,” and “Mr. Right”