As one might expect from the director of First Cow<\/em><\/a>, Certain Women<\/em> and Wendy and Lucy<\/em>, The Mastermind<\/em> is a deliberately paced, character-driven drama with plenty of down-beat moments and a low-key energy. It does have the requisite jazzy score of the genre, composed by Rob Mazurek, but it\u2019s not backing up banter, action sequences, or elaborate plotting. Instead, The Mastermind<\/em> is mostly character beats and dialogue, with a growing desperation as the film progresses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mastermind <\/em>is set in Massachusetts in 1970, but we don\u2019t learn that thanks to explanatory dialogue or a title card as we might in a more traditional studio movie. Instead, Reichardt offers clues to the year with unremarked-on details, set in the corner of the frame. She trusts that the audience is smart enough to catch on. The \u201870s setting allows elements of the story to function that wouldn\u2019t work today, but Reichardt also has fun with the production and costume design with elements like a brown corduroy suit, an out-of-focus Rock \u2018Em Sock \u2018Em Robots playset in the background, and the omnipresent wood paneling in a finished basement. It also has the feel of a \u201870s movie in its approach, particularly in its shaggy lead character and his arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mastermind<\/em> begins at the Framingham Museum of Art, where our protagonist\u2014who is notably not our hero \u2014J.B. (Josh O\u2019Connor) is visiting with his wife (Alana Haim) and two sons (real-life brothers Jasper and Sterling Thompson). He surreptitiously palms a small carving and walks out with it, setting the stage for a larger theft. Harangued by his father (Bill Camp) for his lack of success in his career as a carpenter, he borrows money from his mother (Hope Davis) to pay a team to help him steal a quartet of abstract paintings by Arthur Dove. Yet the title winks at the audience, and J.B.\u2019s scheme doesn\u2019t go according to plan, with something going wrong at every step for the man who orchestrated the crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The art theft itself isn\u2019t the climax. Instead, it\u2019s executed in the first act, and everything that happens during the heist and after doesn\u2019t follow the genre formula. The Mastermind <\/em>refuses to indulge in the beats and scenes that usually make these types of movies entertaining. For example, Reichardt doesn\u2019t show the fight between a museum guard and one of the thieves, leaving the action off screen while the rest of the crew waits in the car. Yet this is Reichardt\u2019s most mainstream and accessible film to date, even with its diversions from what audiences might expect from the genre. It\u2019s more melancholy than these types of movies are allowed to be, in keeping with Reichardt\u2019s oeuvre, but there are still some quietly funny moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O\u2019Connor has made a career out of playing characters who are varying degrees and types of pitiable, and J.B. fits in with his roles in movies like Challengers<\/em><\/a>, La Chimera<\/em> and God\u2019s Own Country<\/em>, while not feeling like he\u2019s repeating himself. He plays men who are just a bit pathetic so compellingly. We\u2019re never quite sure what he\u2019s going to do next as he self sabotages, but we have to keep watching as he does it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mastermind<\/em> may not be Reichardt\u2019s best film, but it hooks you in from its first moments to its Shakespearean ending. The title might be laden with irony for its main character, but it\u2019s fitting for a director who is entirely in control of her craft and vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Mastermind” is in theaters Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mastermind2-1024x576.jpg\")
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