‘The Mastermind’ Review: Kelly Reichardt Steals the Spirit of the ’70s With a Gorgeously Rumpled Arthouse Art-Heist

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In her career, Kelly Reichardt has shown a knack for dissecting various genres with intricate precision. However, in her anti-heist movie “The Mastermind,” she takes this talent to a new level, offering a quirky and insightful twist on the typical robbery-gone-wrong narrative. This film presents an extraordinary act that begins to unravel when faced with the ordinary challenges of everyday life, revealing the fatal flaws in an average man. While it may be her most accessible and enjoyable work yet, “The Mastermind” remains a distinctly Reichardtian exploration of the nature of normalcy and its breaking points.

1970, suburban Massachusetts – a place where windbreakers are perpetually in style. The Mooney family embarks on a visit to the Framingham Art Museum. Father JB (Josh O’Connor) seems strangely captivated by some abstract paintings by Arthur Dove, but there’s nothing to hint at an impending adventure. However, Rob Mazurek’s energetic, jazzy score subtly echoes the spirit of 1970s independent cinema, as if Elliott Gould were ever-present, amusedly observing from the sidelines. Terri (Alana Haim), fitting perfectly into the fashion trend of this “Licorice Pizza” era, relaxes on a bench. Their son Tommy (Jasper Thompson) is engrossed in a comic book, while their younger child Carl (Sterling Thompson) chats endlessly about an alien riddle – T always tells the truth, F always lies, and R does so randomly. The family has a private joke of wearing lapel pins with single letters, and JB wears an “F” pin.

Terri, along with everyone else, was unaware that at the art museum in the small town during the 70s, JB wasn’t just touring, but casing the place instead. The only one who knew of this was composer Mazurek, who had subtly added vibraphone and jazz trumpet to heighten the tension. This museum, despite having a sleeping guard and a slow-reaction doorman, wasn’t much of a challenge for potential thieves. Later on, in his basement, JB conferred with Guy (Eli Gelb) and Larry (Cole Doman) to discuss his seemingly elaborate plan. In reality, it was rather simplistic – a quick grab-and-go job, minus the actual grab. He also mentioned they would need a getaway car, an unpredictable character named Ronnie (Javion Allen), and odd masks made from stockings, but essentially, it was all about snatching valuables quickly and quietly without causing any damage.

In most films within this genre, it’s customary for filmmakers to incorporate a lengthy, wordless scene that pays tribute to Jules Dassin’s classic heist movie “Rififi”. However, Kelly Reichardt approaches this differently. Rather than the heist itself, which she portrays in a humorous and disorganized manner, there is a later sequence filled with dark humor. This scene underscores the challenging logistics of one person transporting four framed paintings and their crate up a rickety ladder to a barn loft. Only we, along with an indifferent pig rooting around in the straw, are privy to this struggle.

After coming back battered and messy from that ordeal, JB stumbles upon police officers in his living room, with Terri, visibly nervous, seated on the couch. By now, Guy had fled, Ronnie ratted him out, and soon Larry would do the same. To secure a brief reprieve, JB resorts to mentioning his father’s name – a respected local judge – which allows him just enough time to gather Terri and the kids and rush them to his parents’ house before he needs to disappear.

In this role, Josh O’Connor seems to shine the brightest. While his character appears to resemble his portrayal in “La Chimera,” with the same stubble, grungy attire, and peculiar affection for artifacts he steals, he still creates a unique persona. Unlike the emotionally heavy role that marked his face in Alice Rohrwacher’s film, here his JB is a quiet, downtrodden gentleman. However, as a slight flaw in his seemingly good-natured demeanor is gradually exposed by ambition and unfortunate events, we come to realize (though he may never admit it) that he isn’t entirely good, and perhaps never was. Being unfortunate doesn’t automatically make one innocent.

In this film, O’Connor is the central figure surrounded by an exceptionally well-cast group. Hope Davis and Bill Camp play his parents with subtle nuances, while John Magaro and Gaby Hoffman portray his friends who he believes can shelter him. Even minor characters, like Jerry (Matthew Mahler), a henchman driver for the gangsters that JB gets involved with, receive careful consideration from director Reichardt. In a typical scenario, such moments involving Jerry would be overlooked by other filmmakers, but not here. As Jerry offers JB some guidance in a gentle tone while he’s nervous in the backseat, he advises, “A tip from me – never work with unpredictable individuals,” hinting at potential future difficulties.

Throughout the film, framing Christopher Blauvelt’s vividly authentic autumnal scenes, we hear anti-war protests, counterculture references, and Walter Cronkite discussing the escalation of the Vietnam War into Cambodia on television. Initially, this background noise appears to be just period detail, much like the excellent production design by Anthony Gasparro, which so accurately captures an era where pantyhose were packaged in small plastic eggs, station wagons had manually operated back windows, and the easiest way to record someone’s address was to tear out the relevant page from a public telephone book.

As JB’s story progresses, the backdrop increasingly moves to the foreground, creating a more biting, ironic atmosphere that reaches its peak in an unexpectedly anticlimactic twist: JB, a man shrinking day by day, is deprived even of the minor victory of claiming his own ending. Reichardt’s film “The Mastermind” doesn’t preach morals, but serves as a subtle, warning whisper to ordinary men who feel they deserve more than the comforts of home and family they’ve grown accustomed to: The world doesn’t owe you anything; take from it and it will take from you. And perhaps, dear one, it will do so much better.

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2025-05-23 21:29