It’s a sarcastic title. James Mooney (Josh O’Connor), the protagonist of Kelly Reichardt’s languorous heist film The Mastermind, is an idiot, a man who, without any real need to, constantly makes the lives of himself and his loved ones worse in schemes that are hardly going to set them up for life even if they go right. A total shithead, he makes for an intriguing but frustrating protagonist in this equally intriguing but frustrating film that has art heists, activist collectives, cops and mobsters, and the roiling political unrest of early 1970s America but still mostly feels like a loose shaggy dog story.
James, or JB to his friends, starts The Mastermind with an idea – he and his small-time suburban Massachusetts crew are going to steal some valuable paintings from a local museum and then…well, he hasn’t really though that far ahead. In a more chaotic heist than he’d like, James does get the paintings, but is soon underwater with both organised crime and the police, and so abandons his wife Terri (Alana Haim) and their two kids to go on the lam to Ohio and then, possibly, Canada to join a commune of draft-dodgers.
Reichardt is in no hurry here, rarely putting JB in any truly urgent danger and spending a lot of time (too much time, really) on wordless sequences of JB just looking at the people around him or choosing an outfit (a jumper and pants combo is the standout choice), set to a repetitive jazz score. It can be patience-testing, especially as the dialogue, when it does come in, is often pretty great. It’s rich and funny and feels very authentic to these people, well-performed by O’Connor and the supporting cast – John Magaro is a highlight as an old friend of JB’s who is just thrilled to harbour a fugitive for a while.
It all looks very nice too, the ‘70s setting informing the aesthetics constantly, the greying sun of late autumn giving a bright fogginess to proceedings, while the cosy costumes sported by everyone are a delight. As undramatic as The Mastermind can feel, an unhealthy combo with a protagonist it’s pretty hard to care about (JB is a decent carpenter, and there’s demand for that, so he could and should just get a normal job), it is a film that is easy to sink into, and it is all building to a pretty perfect ending, even if getting there is a meandering walk.
After the very poor release treatment given to Reichardt’s last film, the artist character study Showing Up, it’s undeniably nice to have her back in proper cinemas with The Mastermind. Up against her best recent stuff, though – especially the wonderful First Cow – it’s a bit of a letdown, a gently funny road to nowhere that pootles on by while the grander, more exciting narratives happen in the background.
Jack Blackwell – Film Reviews 