There’s solid, if soulless, on-paper thinking behind the existence of How to Make a Killing, decisions one can imagine getting some enthused whoops inside an LA conference room. We have IP (beloved Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets), a Black List script (originally titled Rothchild back in 2014), a man-of-the-moment lead (the ubiquitous Glen Powell), a woman-of-the-moment co-star (the equally ubiquitous Margaret Qualley), an of-the-moment trend (eat the rich), an indie company turned merch-able brand (A24) and a film-maker who recently broke out with a buzzed-about debut (Emily the Criminal’s John Patton Ford). If ChatGPT were to create an AI service for studio execs, this would be an obvious green light.
But when dragged into the real world, of discernment and taste, it’s a package that brings up a string of concerning questions. Can Powell pull off burgeoning murderous psychopath? Is it time to stop relying on the Black List as a taste test for quality? Has eat the rich fatigue set in? And, most importantly, why on earth would one try to remake a close-to-perfect classic?
