How to Make a Killing Parent Guide

The Redfellow dynasty has been making money in America from the beginning and has amassed significant wealth. Unfortunately for young socialite Mary Redfellow (Nell Williams), she’s disowned by her father Whitelaw (Ed Harris) when she gets pregnant out of wedlock. Her son Becket (Glen Powell) grows up watching his mother work herself to death, knowing that her phenomenally wealthy family won’t lift a finger to help. Watching her die of cancer because she is unable to afford treatment does not improve Becket’s opinion of his ancestry. The way the family trust is structured, though, Becket is still in line to inherit the family fortune – seventh in line, to be specific. And he has a few ideas on how to make that line move a little faster, and any one of them could send him to prison for life – or death. 

I’m having a hard time deciding how I feel about this film. On the one hand, watching Glen Powell bump off his loathsome relations offers some guilty satisfaction, and Margaret Qualley (playing Backet’s childhood crush and manipulative client) seems to enjoy chewing up the scenery as the Machiavellian femme fatale. On the other hand (and I can’t pin down why), the movie feels a little rough around the edges – the pieces are good, but they don’t seem to fit consistently. 

Family audiences are unlikely to enjoy the show’s frequent profanity and humorous approach to violent homicide, making this a better pick for older (and more cynical) viewers. All things considered, though, the film is fairly mild. The plot sounds like it would be a gore fest, but there’s really very little blood – a good call if you’d like to get away with your murders – and some of them don’t even happen on screen. Similarly, profanity stacks up to about two dozen f-bombs and an assortment of other curse words, which is more than you’d want in juvenile entertainment but less than you might expect from an R-rated dark comedy. 

All in all, though, this is a very watchable option for adult audiences looking for a revenge caper with a side order of social commentary and a heaping helping of family dysfunction. It’s stylishly shot, well cast, and only a little slow through the end of the second act, which you probably won’t even notice if you’re not wearing a winter coat in a theater with a broken heating system like some unfortunate movie critics. 

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.