The Mastermind

Over the years, the R&A audience has been enchanted by the warm, laid-back, and moving films of American indie master Kelly Reichardt. Works like Showing Up, which dives into the world of visual arts, the historical buddy tale First Cow, and the female portrait collection Certain Women have all found passionate fans at the festival. This time, Reichardt’s admirers are treated to The Mastermind, a new film set on the fringes of the art world that premiered in the main competition at Cannes. In the lead role is the rapidly rising star Josh O’Connor (Challengers, La Chimera), playing the world’s worst art thief.

The Mastermind is undoubtedly the most easygoing crime film of the year: O’Connor’s character JB is an idle guy who, unbeknownst to his wife Terri (Alana Haim) and kids, is planning the theft of a not-so-important art collection from the local art museum. Helping him is a motley crew of underworld figures he’s recruited for the job. But when the heist doesn’t go as planned, the police are soon knocking at his door—luckily, JB’s father is a high-ranking prosecutor.

With her trademark gentle touch, Reichardt pokes fun at the bumbling of a privileged white man and fully embraces the comedy of a failed heist. The story, set in 1970s Massachusetts, is accompanied by a jazzy soundtrack.

Inari Ylinen