The Mastermind Review: Josh O’Connor as the World’s Worst Art Thief
A Gripping Heist with a Twist of Irony
The Mastermind, directed by the acclaimed Kelly Reichardt, presents a darkly comedic take on the heist genre, set against the backdrop of 1970s Massachusetts. At its center is James, played with a blend of charm and naïveté by Josh O’Connor—the film’s anti-hero, a weak and clumsy art thief who finds himself in over his head.
An Unlikely Protagonist
James is an art school dropout and aspiring architect grappling with a midlife crisis. Married to Terri (the highly talented Alana Haim, albeit underutilized in this role), James is depicted as a character defined by his reliance on his father’s social stature. Bill Camp impressively portrays Bill, James’s judge father, while Hope Davis plays his wealthy mother, Sarah, from whom he schemes to borrow funds under false pretenses.
The Flawed Heist Plan
James devises a plan to steal four paintings by the American artist Arthur Dove, turning to a pair of tough guys and a getaway driver for assistance. But as James concocts his scheme, he rapidly proves to be the film’s most tragic comic figure, unable to answer a crucial question: how do they plan to sell the stolen art?
A Departure from Glamour
Unlike conventional heist films like Ocean’s Eleven or Reservoir Dogs, Reichardt’s style is marked by an unembellished realism. The cold, clear daylight of her cinematography captures the gritty reality of crime—robberies occur without dramatic scores or heightened tension, making the thefts unglamorous and raw.
A Unique Approach to Heist Cinema
The film can be compared to realist art heist narratives like Alonso Ruizpalacios’s Museum and Bart Layton’s American Animals, yet The Mastermind stands out due to its daringly mundane aftermath of the crime. It explores James’s inability to gauge the reliability of his associates and the local underworld’s reaction to his ambitious theft.
Unraveling Consequences
As the narrative unfolds, we witness James’s desperate attempts to evade justice, ranging from public phone calls home to remorseful escapes. His misguided dreams culminate in poetic justice—a stark reflection of a man unable to reconcile reality with his delusions of grandeur, set against the chaotic political backdrop of Nixon’s America.
A Familiar Face in a New Role
In his portrayal of James, O’Connor delivers a performance reminiscent of another character he played in Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera, where he was a more knowledgeable thief. In contrast, James’s bumbling attempts at art theft cast a shadow not only over his ambitions but also the concept of criminality as a path to self-fulfillment.
Reichardt’s Artful Realism
This film, which follows Reichardt’s previous work, Showing Up, also delves into the realm of art but explores it through the lens of everyday struggles and calamities. In The Mastermind, the dreary aftermath of the heist becomes as vital as the crime itself, captivating the viewer in its poignant portrayal of failure and aspiration.
Conclusion: Quietly Gripping and Thought-Provoking
The Mastermind screened at the Cannes Film Festival, earning praise for its unique narrative and O’Connor’s compelling performance. This film not only provides an engaging story centered around theft but also offers insightful commentary on ambition and consequence, making it a must-watch for those intrigued by the complexities of human character within the framework of crime.
If you’re looking for a heist film that subverts expectations and invites reflection, The Mastermind is a thought-provoking exploration of ambition gone awry, masterfully crafted by Kelly Reichardt.
