Crime doesn’t pay, but it certainly can make life a bit easier – this is a premise on which many fantastic works of art have built themselves, since the idea of looking into the mind of a criminal and understanding their motives (as unsettling as they may be) has become a common point of conversation in terms of artistic expression. Something is compelling about films centred around people whose immorality is, at the very worst, mildly unsettling and endlessly entertaining, almost as if we are being permitted to empathise with someone who has essentially made it their raison d’être to make the world a slightly more disconcerting place. One of the most captivating versions of this idea comes in the novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, in which a mild-mannered young man decides to earn his fortune in the most unconventional way possible: he will methodically murder every member of his wealthy family until he is the only one remaining, allowing him to inherit their enormous wealth. If this premise sounds oddly familiar, its because it has been the foundation of a couple of notable works already, namely the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (widely considered one of the greatest British comedies in history) and the stage musical A  Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, both of which explore this delightfully offbeat premise through layers of dark humour and complex social commentary. It was only a matter of time before we saw another adaptation, which now comes on behalf of John Patton Ford, whose sophomore directorial outing is How to Make a Killing, which moves the action from Europe in the mid-20th century to the modern United States, where our anti-hero is the charismatic but off-kilter Becket, who decides to avenge his mother (who was disowned by her family after refusing to terminate her teenage pregnancy) by killing off the people who rejected her, and in the process inching his way closer to the billion dollar empire currently supervised by his sinister grandfather. It’s a strange and unsettling dark comedy that may not reach the heights of previous adaptations, but has enough momentum to be mostly very entertaining on its own terms, proving that there is still a place for this particular brand of black humour in the contemporary cinematic landscape.

The appeal of a film like How to Make a Killing comes in its resonance – even those who cannot fathom the idea of committing acts of murder solely for the sake of inheriting a fortune can recognise some of the core themes that drive this story. This is a film about class struggle and the economic divide, which is something that Ford establishes as his primary focus, which is smart for several reasons. Firstly, it allows the film to immediately differentiate itself from the existing adaptations of the novel (which was written over a century ago, but somehow remains just as biting and compelling today as it did in the early 20th century – it is just proof that nothing ages quite as well as a razor-sharp satire), since its focus is shifted away from the themes with which viewers are likely more familiar, and instead allows it to take on an identity of its own. It also redirects the core themes away from just being a wacky tale of unhinged murder and develops it into something that may not be overly serious, but has much more relevance to the world we live in today. The director has proven himself to be someone who has a strong grasp on the cultural pulse (as evident in his debut, the wildly ambitious Emily the Criminal, which did not receive the adulation it deserved at first but is most certainly going to age exceptionally well, already showing signs of developing quite a strong cult following), and he uses this premise to comment critically on the stage of contemporary America, one that can essentially be divided into two factions: those who thrive, and those who suffer. How to Make a Killing is not aiming to be the definitive deconstruction of the tensions between classes based on economic division, but rather attempts to find method beneath the madness, a kind of darkly comedic indictment on how free market capitalism has become a burden on the global culture, to the point where even the most hardworking of people can be overtaken by anyone who simply has the benefit of being well-connected. It’s not the kind of treatise against nepotism nor the rage-fuelled call-to-arms for economic reform that this description may make it seem like, but it nonetheless does have enough merit to earn our sincere respect, even if it can touch on some very common themes in the process.

Much like previous adaptations, How to Make a Killing is a film that does require good work from its cast, since it is such a wacky story that it needs people who are capable of handling the trickier aspects of the plot, rather than solely being a pawn to the more abstract approach being taken by the story. Unlike these earlier versions, Ford’s adaptation places more emphasis on the part of the murderous anti-hero, the man who is adamant in his desire to methodically kill off every one of his family members, which is a major change for reasons we’ll outline momentarily. Occupying this part is Glen Powell, who has steadily been positioning himself as a potential major leading man, taking on a wide range of projects that attempt to draw on his natural charisma, dashing movie star persona and willingness to push himself as an actor. He’s a solid performer, but has always thrived in films where he is able to tap into that innate eccentricity that is unfortunately suppressed when it comes to prospective leading men. Mercifully, Ford manages to overcome the recent trend of removing Powell’s unique gifts and allows him to lean into them here – while it can sometimes feel like a very pale imitation of Patrick Bates in American Psycho, Powell nonetheless does what he can to command the film, and he’s genuinely quite good. The problem is that, while he is suitably more offbeat than usual, he’s playing a part that is normally supported by a supporting cast of characters who tend to veer even further into the realm of absurdity, which is mostly a result of them usually being played by the same actor. Kind Hearts and Coronets and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder were considered breakout moments for Alec Guinness and Jefferson Mays, respectively, becoming some of their signature roles, since their efforts to bring over half a dozen unique characters to life, finding the subtle differences and hilarious similarities, were often the reason these works managed to be so effective. In this film, all the family members are played by different actors, which removes the hook of the original adaptations and makes it far less interesting. Everyone is very good (Ed Harris, Bill Camp, Topher Grace and Zach Woods all have very strong moments), but it loses a lot of momentum in removing this key element, and forces the film to abandon something that may be a bit outdated, but at the very least would have given it the same sense of intrigue that drove the previous versions of this story.

Much like the previous versions of this story, How to Make a Killing works not only because of the strong cast but also the exceptional work being done by the director, who is walking a very narrow tonal tightrope in bringing this story to life. The reason the film is so effective is solely because of its willingness to venture into some slightly darker territory, while never losing its happy-go-lucky attitude, which is a peculiar comment on a story that centres on someone who is essentially a cold-blooded serial killer, but whose actions are so compelling solely because of how the film heightens everything for comedic effect. The best moments in this film are those where it is at its most unhinged – it’s a strong socio-cultural commentary, but what draws us in (and ultimately keeps us engaged) are those moments of more off-the-wall madness that contrast beautifully with the more sombre developments, creating an interesting dynamic that Ford very effectively combines to create quite a sharp satirical piece. However, this doesn’t mean the film is without its flaws – it is taking an already wacky concept and attempting to retain some of that offbeat energy, while combining it with more serious subject matter, and while this is perfectly reasonable in theory, we do find that it struggles to compress everything into the neat 100 minutes of running time, but rather than killing a few darlings (no puns intended) to make space for certain elements, the film attempts to explore absolutely everything, which ultimately proves to be slightly unwieldy, causing the film to be far too frantic and overstuffed. How to Make a Killing is the kind of film that benefits from taking a pause now and then, and allowing its core themes to dwell on particular points, which unfortunately does not happen too frequently, leading to a film that may move at a breakneck speed (and therefore doesn’t ever feel too long or poorly-paced), but at the expense of examining some of the more interesting ideas lingering beneath the surface. This doesn’t necessarily invalidate its merits, but it does leave a lot to be desired after some time, which is why the film never quite amounts to all of its underlying potential.

Ultimately, How to Make a Killing is a film that doesn’t strive to be particularly innovative or complex and follows a very familiar formula, down to the smallest detail. While this may make it seem like a very limited, one-dimensional work, it does still have enough charm to draw us in, and functions as a perfectly entertaining, if not entirely minor, crime comedy. Ford is not an unskilled director by any means, and he has shown a lot of promise, so while it is undeniably a bit disappointing that he would take this very strong material and turn it into a mostly conventional film that follows familiar beats right down to the smallest detail. We can predict every narrative beat, and even when we think we’re about to get the rare mainstream comedy that has a more acidic, bleak ending as was the case with the novel and the two other notable adaptations, it inserts the kind of satisfying conclusion that we would expect, underlining Hollywood’s wholehearted belief that even the most despicable characters (in this case a cold-blooded serial killer) deserve a happy ending when they have been positioned as the protagonists of a particular story. It’s very predictable, but this doesn’t automatically render its ideas invalid. Instead, it just becomes a case of trying to take this film for what it is, even if it means focusing on the more obvious merits while overlooking the clear shortcomings. It is mostly very entertaining, and has its moments of ingenuity scattered in between the more conventional elements, which does make it a worthwhile effort, even if it doesn’t realise its full potential, or even a fraction of it. We have to wonder how much of Ford’s original vision made it to the screen – we can imagine there existed a more caustic, cynical version that leans into the bleak pessimism that we see on occasion (there are flecks of brilliance throughout), which was subjected to studio interference. In either case, How to Make a Killing is a solid film, one that doesn’t reinvent the genre nor do anything particularly challenging, but at least offers wholeheartedly compelling entertainment, enough to keep us engaged and invested, offering some reliable, darkly comedic viewing that is more than enough for a film of this calibre.