The Mastermind

Criminals are seldom smart. Usually, they are not even clever or well organised. That means that the title of Kelly Reichardt’s new anti-heist thriller must be read ironically. Following the world premiere in Cannes, The Mastermind is touring the world's festivals and we caught it in Sarajevo.

Our anti-hero is James Blaine (or simply JB) Mooney (Josh O’Connor), an art school dropout, a wannabe interior designer with no head for business, a family man and the son of a local judge (Bill Camp, formidable as usual) and a patrician (Hope Davis). JB has never lived up to his parents’ expectations and is not a criminal by nature, however, he hatches a plan to get rich quick. On his regular trips to the local museum somewhere in suburban Massachusetts, JB notices the treasure of a few Arthur Dove’s abstract paintings and certain omissions regarding security. So he gets the idea to simply walk in with his even less competent buddies and steal them. He thinks the plan through because he is the mastermind.

But, actually, he is not. Not only does he not predict one of his henchmen dropping out the last moment, his replacement being a “wild card” career criminal, he also did not predict witnesses, a couple of high school girls out on an art project. The mission, however, goes “successfully”, less thanks to JB’s plan and more to the guards’ slow reaction and the “direct action” by the armed wild card guy. But, once he has the paintings, to whom could he possibly sell them? And, in the meanwhile, where could he stash them?

Soon afterwards, the police come asking questions and the real gangsters appear to take the loot. JB has just enough time to drop his wife Terri (Alana Haim) and their two sons to his parents’ house and to try to run away. Needless to say he does not think this through either, which leads him to more and more trouble…

Reichardt usually makes “anti-genre” movies in different keys. Her starting point is a “clean” genre she then completely subverts to tell a human interest and often humane story about the faults of our species. She has previously tackled westerns, comedy and an eco-thriller. So, nobody could expect a proper heist– or man-on-the-run thriller – from her, although some comedic and heart-warming moments are woven to The Mastermind’s fabric with a gentle touch. Some will see the anti-spectacular denial of the implications of the Ocean’s film series, others will see some Bressonian self-awareness or nods to Dassin’s Rififi, but it is unmistakably Reichard’s movie.

Although she has changed her preferred shooting location (Ohio replaces Oregon), the filmmaker studies the life and human conditions thoroughly. The plot is set in the 70s, the scenery is filled with rich but discreet period detail and even O’Connor, playing a not-so-dissimilar character from his archaeologist-turned-graverobber in Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera, channels some of Elliott Gould vibes from Robert Altman's films. The news of the Vietnam War echoes in the background constantly, sometimes practically battling against Rob Mazurek’s perfectly fitting percussion-heavy free jazz score. It becomes obvious that, in those times when the draft deserters took a flight to Canada more often than failed art thieves, our protagonist could, at best, hope for passing “infamy” in local newspapers.

Reichardt’s attention to detail is visible in every aspect, and the perfect casting is no exception. Even the actors in bit parts, like John Magaro and Gaby Hoffman as JB's former college friends who harbour him for a short period and Matthew Mahler, as a folksy, good-hearted gangster’s driver who gives JB an ironically useful advice for the next time that will probably never come. The only thing that could be seen as a fault is the fact that even in the 110 minutes of runtime, we would like to see those actors, Alana Ham included, in more than one or two scenes.

The Mastermind is probably Kelly Reichardt’s most accessible and even most openly funny, albeit in a bittersweet way, film to date. As such, it is clear-eyed, quietly disarming, captivating and palpably human.

Reviewed on: 18 Aug 2025