The Mastermind Review

The Mastermind volition premiere successful theaters and watercourse connected Mubi astatine a day TBD. This reappraisal is based connected a screening astatine the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Kelly Reichardt’s heist movie The Mastermind is crackingly, urgently alive, an assured and magnificent summation to an already storied assemblage of work. Set amid the malaise and unrest of 1970s Massachusetts, it’s governmental and personal, exploring the beingness of an unemployed carpenter who tries his manus astatine creation theft lone for his beingness to wholly autumn apart. With a career-best show by Josh O'Connor, it’s a sharply incisive and often darkly comic gem that bolsters Reichardt’s estimation arsenic 1 of our finest surviving filmmakers.

This is felt close retired of the gross successful a astir wordless opening country wherever the woefully selfish James Blaine Mooney (O'Connor) visits a section creation depository with his wife, Terri (Alana Haim), and their 2 sons. While 1 of the kids humorously rambles connected to nary 1 successful particular, his begetter not-so-subtly cases the joint, steals a tiny figurine, and conceals it successful Terri’s bag. Already, we cognize truthful overmuch astir James: He’s ever astatine a region from his family, and lone comes adjacent erstwhile helium needs to usage them for cover. I was wholly swept up successful the excitement of it, perfectly punctuated by composer Rob Mazurek’s fantabulous jazz score. It’s the archetypal of galore elemental yet remarkably well-written, directed, and edited scenes (roles each filled by Reichardt) that sets the signifier for a spectacular, surprising, and somber transgression communicative to come.

This is conscionable a proceedings run; contempt his inexperience, James intends to bargain 4 paintings from the museum. He brings connected a squad of goofy guys helium knows to bash the existent thieving (insisting it would beryllium overmuch excessively risky for him, since he’s already shown his look determination excessively much), and plans it each retired successful his basement. There’s an electrifying strength to each framework of these scenes, laced with a increasing consciousness of calamity.

The Mastermind is simply a thrilling movie astir process, but it’s besides alert that there’s a trap successful specified excitement, and Reichardt delicately slips successful indications of however this could each spell wrong. Some of these are funny, similar James leaving the kids to their ain devices due to the fact that they don’t person schoolhouse connected the time of the heist. Others are urgent, similar however helium has to service arsenic getaway operator aft the wheelman helium hired gets acold feet. As the signs of impending catastrophe mount, James blows close past them.

There’s a gag successful the title, too: The main quality is thing but a mastermind. He has capable ego to judge helium tin propulsion thing similar this disconnected adjacent with minimal readying and a wide deficiency of thought astir the consequences. Even the country wherever helium tries to fell his loot successful a barn by utilizing a ladder humorously undercuts his delusion. That’s wherever the communicative dovetails with its humanities backdrop, arsenic reminders of the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon’s presidency echo the heedlessness of James’ actions connected a overmuch larger scale. It’s a softly scathing, compelling, and astute encapsulation of arrogance spinning retired of power that’s expertly handled by Reichardt.

It each makes for a distinctly American tragicomedy. When propulsion comes to shove, James is individualistic to an progressively cruel degree, consenting to wantonness the already flimsy pretense that helium cared astir his household if it means avoiding jailhouse time. O’Connor plays these notes beautifully, his boyish charm an perfect lucifer for James’ unwillingness to instrumentality work for his actions. He’s slimy, but human, with the bladed protective ammunition he’s built for himself evident successful O’Connor’s show and the mode the quality is written – making it each the much satisfying to spot that ammunition shattered portion he’s laying debased with 2 aged friends played by John Magaro and Gaby Hoffmann.

It’s the second who cuts James down to size and reveals who helium truly is, speaking aloud what was near efficaciously unspoken for overmuch of The Mastermind: This communicative is not 1 of a scrappy thief taking connected The Man, but 1 astir a feline who’s conscionable arsenic self-serving and inconsiderate arsenic The Man. Reichardt is simply a diligent filmmaker who ne'er overplays her hand, but this infinitesimal shows she tin besides constitute crisp dialogue. As James goes further adrift from there, she remains successful implicit control, applying poetic rhythms to his downward spiral.

This culminates successful an arresting decision wherever the depths of James’ manipulation and O’Connor’s richly layered show are connected afloat display. In 1 telephone call, his galore lies and fabrications travel crumbling down astir him. At the aforesaid time, Reichardt pulls The Mastermind’s Vietnam-era tumult retired of the inheritance and into the forefront, sweeping James up successful a bigger situation he’s mostly ignored successful favour of his ain foolhardy endeavors. It’s an ending of impeccable craftsmanship and affluent ideas and the decision to a movie that’s a enactment of creation successful its ain right.