The Mastermind Is a Unique Look at America

Mubi

4/5 stars

I always dread the deadline for my year-end top five because I know I'll never get to see every film I plan to watch before it arrives. This was doubly true in 2025 when I missed the newest film by my favorite working filmmaker. Although the deadline has passed, I was finally able to see Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind, and while it didn't hit me as hard as her previous two films (Showing Up and First Cow), it still kept me hooked thanks to her unique view of the American outsider.

Set in Massachusetts in 1970, the film follows James Mooney (Josh O'Connor), an unemployed carpenter who is secretly hatching a daring heist: he and his accomplices plan to steal four paintings from a local art museum. His seemingly "master" plan falls apart quickly, and now Mooney must keep the stolen paintings hidden from his wife (Alana Haim) and sons and find a way to escape the police, all while social unrest seems to follow him everywhere he goes.

As a heist film, the plot has more narrative propulsion than Reichardt's usual fare while still maintaining her minimalist, shaggy dog storytelling. Its quirky side characters, dry humor, and pitch-perfect attention to period accuracy sometimes make it feel like her take on a Coen Brothers film. The heist may seem silly (stealing paintings for no reason other than to do it), but set against the turmoil of Vietnam-era America, Reichardt makes a grand statement. Having the privilege to tune out the unrest of the world does less to protect oneself than to turn one into an aimless loner. Reichardt's protagonist embraces solipsism to a fault until the world crashes into him in the film's devilishly ironic climax.

The Mastermind is currently available on Mubi.

Written and directed by Kelly Reichardt // Starring Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim, Hope Davis, John Magaro, Gaby Hoffmann, Jasper Thompson, Sterling Thompson, Eli Gelb, Cole Doman, Javion Allen, Matthew Maher, Rhenzy Feliz, Bill Camp, and Amanda Plummer // Mubi // 110 minutes // Rated R