Curator Watchlist
A darkly comic crime caper with a strong Coen-esque vibe, especially if you like small-town incompetence, escalating cover-ups, and deadpan moral chaos. It’s not especially original in structure, but the cast, tonal balance, and macabre humor make it an easy recommendation for fans of offbeat thrillers.
Where to watch: Buy
Wed · 1h 53m
Director: Franck Dubosc
Starring: Franck Dubosc, Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde
Michel and Cathy, wed for longer than they can remember, lead a quiet but monotonous life in the mountains. When a bear bursts out in front of Michel’s car, accidentally killing two drug dealers and revealing a €2 million loot in the process, their life takes an unpredictable turn, especially when they decide to cover up the incident and keep the money! But their plan leads them to stumble upon an unexplained trail of dead bodies. More used to being honest than crooked, Michel and Cathy’s clumsy cover-up efforts soon put an interfering inspector hot on their trail.
Franck Dubosc
Franck Dubosc, Laure Calamy, Benoît Poelvoorde
A darkly comic crime caper with a strong Coen-esque vibe, especially if you like small-town incompetence, escalating cover-ups, and deadpan moral chaos. It’s not especially original in structure, but the cast, tonal balance, and macabre humor make it an easy recommendation for fans of offbeat thrillers.
How to Make a Killing works best as a French provincial crime farce with a streak of genuine menace. A bear, a pile of cash, and a botched cover-up give it a clean genre hook, but the real pleasure is watching ordinary people dig themselves deeper while trying to stay decent. The film leans into deadpan absurdity without losing the human awkwardness at its center.
The strongest comparisons are to the Coen brothers at their most mischievous, though the movie adds a warmer, more romantic undercurrent than you might expect. That blend helps it feel less like a parody of crime cinema and more like a character-driven spiral where every bad decision creates a new, funnier problem. The supporting cast also gives the material a lot of lift.
It’s not flawless: some stretches feel conventional, and the plotting can be a little too familiar if you’ve seen a lot of small-town crime comedies. But the tonal control is good, the jokes land often enough, and the film has enough bite to make its modest ambitions feel satisfying rather than small.
snaptrox (3.5★) · 718 likes
Quand j’ai la flemme de faire une review je like celles qui résument mon avis mais là y’en a pas DONC, Liste rapide de pourquoi le film est cool : - Une énorme ambiance Fargo en version française c’est très très bien dosé - Casting 5/5 - Je crois que j’avais jamais ri au cinéma de ma vie genre à voix haute comme un daron, bravo pour ça - c’est régulièrement drôle- Poelvoorde salaud tu me régale sans faire… more
mail (3★) · 417 likes
"oui c'est Greg " t'as 50ans lache ça
Victor Bonnefoy (3.5★) · 243 likes
Dubosc qui veut être le troisième frère Coen, avec un soupçon de tendresse en plus. Inattendu, surprenant, et même touché dans son dernier acte. C'est pas parfait mais ça me plaît beaucoup.
wrap movies (3★) · 220 likes
On est le 7 janvier 2025, Le Pen est mort et Dubosc a fait un bon film… ça va être une sacré année moi je vous le dis
Frame_ (3★) · 140 likes
C’est un peu trop long et classique en terme de réal mais les petites séquences de malaise sont assez brillamment écrites, de quoi passer un bon moment
The clearest tonal touchstone: a crime scheme spiraling into absurd violence, with deadpan humor and provincial unease.
A money-find premise that turns ordinary people into anxious liars, with strong moral fallout and mounting dread.
For viewers who like incompetence, misunderstandings, and a crime plot that keeps getting dumber in entertaining ways.
A leaner, harsher cousin to this kind of accidental-crime chaos, with strong noir tension and dark irony.
Not a thriller in the same way, but it shares the Coen-style mix of slacker confusion, crime, and comic drift.
For its blend of violence, guilt, and mordant comedy, with characters trapped by their own bad decisions.
A witty crime caper that thrives on voice, confusion, and the pleasure of watching a mess unfold.
A dry, offbeat crime comedy with rural texture, eccentric characters, and a strong sense of local color.
For audiences who enjoy darkly comic escalation and stories where frustration tips into chaos.
A classic example of greed, deception, and comic criminal incompetence with a very sharp ensemble.
A wintry, cynical crime comedy about bad timing, bad choices, and a plan that can’t stay intact.
A lighter but similarly playful mix of crime, comedy, and escalating absurdity driven by mismatched people.
crime gone wrong, cover-up, marital partnership, small-town life, moral compromise, black comedy, escalating chaos, provincial isolation
black comedy, crime thriller, French cinema, small-town, cover-up, deadpan humor, moral farce, escalation, neo-noir, ensemble cast