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Posted in: A24, Movies | Tagged: a24, Glen Powell, how to make a killing
How to Make a Killing Director Shares His Take on the Film's Ending
The director of the new A24 movie, How to Make a Killing, discusses how the ending impacts the film's central character.
Article Summary
- How to Make a Killing stars Glen Powell as a disowned heir fighting for his family's vast inheritance.
- The film's darkly comic ending sees Becket freed after a twist involving a concealed suicide note.
- Director John Patton Ford explains the ending's irony: Becket gets what he wanted, but too late.
- The bittersweet finale leaves Becket questioning the true cost of claiming his family's fortune.
How to Make a Killing is a dark comedy thriller led by Glen Powell, who plays Becket Redfellow, a blue-collar outsider who was disowned from his extremely wealthy family before he was even born, and decides to reclaim what he believes should have been his by wiping out the relatives standing between him and the inheritance. The movie, written and directed by John Patton Ford, dives straight into that inheritance war setup with a clear satirical edge. By the time the film reaches its final stretch (spoilers ahead), it pushes Becket all the way from scheming heir to condemned man.
After surviving the confrontation with Whitelaw and becoming the sole heir, Becket is arrested for Lyle's murder, a killing he insists he did not commit, and the case against him sticks after the letter opener is tied to his fingerprints. He is sentenced to death, only for Julia to reenter the picture with another twist. She tells him there was a suicide note that was withheld, but she will only release it if he signs over the Redfellow fortune to her. He agrees, she finally releases the note, and Becket is freed just before his execution. Though he takes another hit outside the prison, where Ruth (his girlfriend) returns his mother's locket and leaves, while Julia waits for him and drives him back toward the Redfellow mansion as the gates close on the final image.
How to Make a Killing Director on the Deliberate Irony of the Ending
Ford recently gave an explanation for the character's ending when speaking with Screen Rant, telling the outlet, "At the end of the movie, he gets what he always thought he wanted, but it's too late, and now he knows he would have been better off with a different kind of life." The filmmaker continues, "So he gets his goal, but only after he realizes that he actually doesn't want it. There's an irony there that's deliberate." But what was your take on the ending? Did you enjoy the film's bittersweet conclusion?
How to Make a Killing opened in U.S. theaters on February 20, 2026, via A24.
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