As per the MIFF guide: “Aimless J.B., a former art student who’s fallen on hard times as an out-of-work carpenter, has hatched a cunning plan: to steal a handful of paintings from a small museum outside of Boston. It may seem like a bad idea, but he’s got it all figured out … save for what to do with his kids while the theft is taking place, and what to do with the paintings once he has them.”
Coming into MIFF this year, I was elated to see that a number of my most anticipated films of 2025 had made it onto the programme. The first of these to actually screen for me turned out to be Kelly Reichardt's “The Mastermind” and the reason why I was looking forward to the film so much was because it felt so outside of Reichardt's usual wheelhouse. While it is true that this is her second consecutive film to deal with the art world, whereas “Showing Up” was about the process of making art, “The Mastermind” is actually an art heist film. The idea of Kelly Reichardt making a heist film had me intrigued, as I was sure that she would make it a unique experience, just due to the fact that this isn't the usual kind-of film that she makes, so she would see this genre exercise with fresh eyes. Obviously with “The Mastermind” being on my most anticipated list, I was expecting to like the film, but I wasn't expecting to end up liking it as much as I did; I absolutely loved “The Mastermind”!
One of the first things that caught me off guard with “The Mastermind” was the film's tone which was much lighter and more playful than I expected it to be. For some reason, I felt like it was going to be a very serious film, but hadn't realised that the title of the film is actually ironic. J.B is a lovable loser and the extent of his plan is to go into the museum in broad daylight and just take the paintings off of the walls. His dreams of an easy future filled with excessive cash are doomed before he sets his plan into action, simply because he has no ambition or will to follow through with anything in his life. Instead, by making this idiotic decision to steal these paintings, all he does is make sure that the lives of himself and his family are going to get worse. J.B is a total fuck-up, but still, through Josh O'Connor's charming performance, we want to see this man succeed, if only for the future of his wife, and his two young boys who idolise him. The film at times is also very funny too. One such moment is at the family dinner table, where J.B's father reads about the art theft in the newspaper and commenting “I'm not sure they have thought this through. Stealing such abstract artwork which would then make it so hard to sell on”. This comment make J.B irate with anger, but of course he cannot say anything about it.
One of my favourite aspects of “The Mastermind” was just how little dialogue is in the film, with large chunks of it being told only through it's images. We get multiple extended scenes where we watch characters doing things, with Reichardt focusing on the smallest of details, which is a little ironic as this is something J.B himself fails to do. Scenes of J.B casing the museum, the actual robbery of the paintings, and then the hiding of said paintings in a “secret, secure” location, are all done without dialogue and in fantastic detail, and for me, these scenes were the highlights of the film. In a way, these kinds of scenes are often the norm in heist films, as we watch intricate plans and details that need to come off perfectly for the job to be successful. Reichardt puts her own spin on this by showing us these same kind of scenes but for a robbery that hasn't been thought out or planned in any real detail, with the results being pretty funny. When dialogue is present within the film, it never feels out of place, it is light and conversational, never really focusing on the dire situation J.B has found himself in. The scenes between J.B and his old schoolmate Fred (played by Reichardt regular John Magaro), who agrees to hide out the wanted felon much to the chagrin of his displeased wife Maude, are another highlight, and just feel like two old friends catching up on lost time. Fred is in awe of J.B pulling off such a job, whilst Maude is able to see the real life dangers of associating with the thief, and is frosty because of this (despite their shared past together as old friends).
“The Mastermind” is a period piece set in either 1970 or 1971, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the protests against it. The period detail in the film is just exquisite with locations, costumes, vehicles and props all outstanding in creating a believable 1970's world that feels truly lived in. Tiny things such as the metal alarm clock that J.B's wife throws at him, or the registration sticker on the car's windscreen add so much to the world created. Even the “classic” style of film making Kelly Reichardt and Christopher Blauvelt (her regular cinematographer) employ, help to create a film that you believe could be an actual relic from that era. Reichardt and Blauvelt chose to shoot “The Mastermind” on film (in 65mm no less) and it was an excellent choice, as it also adds greatly to the ambience of that time. Textures on fabric or wood, or the canvases of the paintings themselves are all heightened because of this photographic decision and the film looks sensational because of it. In regards to the Vietnam War aspect within the film, it is mainly in the background, playing on news reports on televisions or stories in the newspapers, and from time to time, we also see some physical protesters too. It is an added flavour within this world without it being front and centre, until the very clever and rather amusing finale to the film, where it ends up playing a large part in the conclusion.
An aspect of film making that I rarely talk about is music or a film's score, and that is mainly because I know nothing about the subject other than what I think may sound good, or work well for the film itself. I absolutely loved Rob Mazurek's score for “The Mastermind”!! It is jazzy in style, largely consisting of drums and trumpets, but it is just so damned cool. It is never used completely throughout the film, rather just to highlight certain moments and scenes, but it elevates the picture ten fold when the music is playing.
So was there anything about “The Mastermind” that I didn't like, you may be asking? Amazingly, yes! I absolutely hated the opening credits to the film which are presented onscreen top-to-bottom, as opposed to the usual left-to-right, similar to the way Japanese text is displayed in the credits of their movies, but with the text here in English. It was so hard on the eye to read and understand, and it also looked really cheap and crappy, and didn't fit the overall tone, nor the aesthetic, of the film itself. It is the film's biggest flaw, and it is right at the beginning. Thankfully, everything after this horrendous misstep is almost flawless though.
Overall, I was blown away by how great and entertaining Kelly Reichardt's crime caper turned out to be. It was completely different to what I was expecting and all the better for it too. It has a wonderfully charming lead performance from Josh O'Connor who makes us care for a lovable loser, whose every bumbling decision seems to put his and his family's lives further in trouble. The film making on display is second to none, with an eye on period detail that is impressive to say the least. I think this is Kelly Reichardt's most accessible film to date, and believe it will be a great success for her. I loved every second of it!
4.5 Stars.
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