How to Make a Killing – Review

While there may be a few hints of other movies in this film’s setup, How to Make a Killing remains a crazy and unexpected crime caper full of surprises. Icy cold winter roads are often a dangerous scenario, however this movie compounds things with all sorts of plotlines branching out of an opening scene.

It’s almost Christmas time. As a group of smuggler migrants call a man named Greg as they march through the forest, confirming their task: it’s not easy, but the merchandise will be there just a tad late. They know the terrain. It’s a cold morning, and the men tire from their trek. Then… panting… and growling. A bear!!! Holy shit. HELP!! The men disburse. The bear goes zooming off.

Greg himself is elsewhere, on a cold mountain road, confirming with another man Iroquois that the package will be about 30 minutes late at the hangar. He then takes a pee well off-road in the bushes. His girlfriend is doing the same, using the door for cover, and peeing right next to their parked BMW.

Tree farmer Michel (Dubosc) is driving his truck, coming down the road on his daily trek. Then, an unexpected bear! Oh shit! He swerves, trying to keep control of his truck, and not go off the roadside into the tree ravine. He is barely successful, and rights the truck, right before it collides with the BMW parked awkwardly next to the road. There goes the peeing lady. As Michel goes to check on the BMW, strangely Greg winds up inexplicably impaling himself on a tree branch.

So, now things are getting a little weird. There are some seriously dead bodies, and Michel feels a bit uneasy about everything. Add into the mix his interesting wife Cathy (Calamy) and child, a ton of money, an awkward police investigation, and nefarious criminals and you have How to Make a Killing (which is not a literal translation of the French title, ‘A Bear in Jura’).

How to Make a Killing is extremely entertaining and is a well-crafted crime tale. It is off-beat with its humor as well as its plot points. It’s hard to guess what will happen next, or what will make you laugh, or squirm. Despite the offbeat plot, it is performed seriously, balancing the criminal acts with some pretty funny reactions or behaviors.