I was hyped up for this latest Kelly Reichardt movie. By that, I mean I bought a small popcorn instead of a kids popcorn. The queen of the gentle drama takes her shot at a heist movie. In this game of movie chicken, who’s will is going to bend first?
The heist in this case takes place at the Framingham Museum of Art in 1970. J.B. Mooney (Josh O’Connor) is a regular there, admiring the art with his two kids (Sterling and Jasper Thompson) he takes regularly because he’s currently unemployed. But while the kids run around as they please, J.B. is taking notes: the security guard is always in a deep sleep, there’s a back room no one really goes in, and most of the patrons are old and clueless. Not wanting to borrow money from his mom (Hope Davis) and dad (Bill Camp) again, J.B.’s stakeout helps him plan the “perfect” victimless crime.
Spoiler alert, Kelly Reichardt was always going to win the movie chicken game. In this case though, that’s a good thing. Most heist movies sacrifice good storytelling for something Michael Bay or a Fast and Furious movie would be proud of. None of that happens in The Mastermind. Yes there’s no explosions, but Reichardt keeps the excitement up (by her standards) with a great jazzy score, and a well written plan. Notice I didn’t say well executed, because like all heists something’s gonna go wrong. Except here, what goes wrong isn’t a plot twist: it’s entwined with J.B.’s character: a man stuck in a life he doesn’t want, and will do anything to find a way out of his predicament. So, unlike most heist movies, you’re more rooting against this self-assured loser, and laughing along at all the “details” J.B. straight up didn’t take into account.
In a Kelly Reichardt movie, the heist is only the setup. It’s the fallout that interests her most. All that innate likability Josh O’Connor gives the meek J.B. starts to slowly fall away as the walls start to close in. As bad as it was, this theft gives J.B. his “out.” He’s so intoxicated by this, that you can see any time his kids, his parents, or his wife Terri (Alana Haim) come to him for help, he reluctantly agrees just to shut everyone up for a second so he can make this “out” permanent. He’s completely oblivious how all these people he supposedly loves have been helping him in all these ways he didn’t quite understand…until he sees the dollars in his pocket slowly dwindle away, little by little. Only Kelly Reichardt could make a heist movie a deeply melancholic character study of men incapable of growing up; it’ll work magnificently if you’re ready for it.
Or if you’re a Michael Bay fan, you’ll be wondering why J.B. hasn’t been stabbed or shot yet. The Mastermind is another great addition to the Kelly Reichardt collection, seeing her branch out creatively to new genres and places. I can’t wait to see the horror sickos appalled at her serial killer movie in 2028, where she goes deep into the human psyche to try and understand why this person has to kill others. Don’t think Shudder is gonna want that one.