Kelly Reichardt’s new movie The Mastermind isn’t your usual heist film. Forget the fast cuts, the cool masks, and the getaway cars screeching around corners. This one is set in 1970 and follows James Mooney (played by Josh O’Connor), a washed-up architect who walks into a small museum on a random afternoon with two buddies and simply lifts four paintings. No guns, no drama—just three regular guys stuffing art under their coats like it’s no big deal. What sounds like the start of an exciting crime story quickly turns into something much slower and stranger.
The actual theft happens so calmly it almost feels funny. There are long shots of feet walking across floors, a guard sipping coffee, and the soft crinkle of canvas being rolled up. Reichardt doesn’t blast music to make your heart race; she lets the silence do the work. It’s like she’s daring you to notice how ordinary stealing can look when nobody’s trying to be a movie hero.
Josh O’Connor is perfect as Mooney—a nervous, tired guy who thought this one big score would fix his life. His two sidekicks are lovable losers: one keeps quoting half-remembered philosophy, the other just wants a cigarette and a bus ticket out of there. They’re not deep characters with big backstories; they’re just people you might meet at a dive bar, and that feels honest. A lot of viewers complain that nothing happens for long stretches. There are scenes of driving in the rain, sitting in cheap motel rooms, or staring at the paintings hidden in an attic. Others say it’s made this way on purpose—because that’s exactly how life feels when your great plan starts falling apart. I get both sides. The slow parts made me fidget sometimes, but they also made the funny, awkward moments hit harder.
The movie looks like an old photo album somebody left in the sun—faded colors, dusty cars, sad little towns. The music is jazzy but sparse; every now and then a saxophone wanders in like it got lost. Some people hate how the music and pictures don’t always match, but I kind of liked the weird vibe it created. Underneath everything, the film asks a simple question: what do you do when the thing you stole turns out to be heavier than you expected—not in weight, but in worry? Mooney spends the whole movie running, hiding, and waiting for a buyer who never feels real. It’s less about the paintings and more about how hard it is to hold onto anything when your life is already slipping away.
Yes, the ending doesn’t tie everything up neatly. Some threads just drop, and you exit the film with questions instead of answers. That frustrated me a little at first, but later I realized that’s the point. Real mistakes don’t come with perfect closure. If you love fast-paced blockbusters, this one may not be for you. But if you’re in the mood for something quiet, funny, and oddly moving, give it a chance.
The Mastermind won’t be for everyone, and that’s okay. It’s a small movie that trusts you to pay attention, feel the weight of little moments, and laugh at how ridiculous people can be when they think they’re being clever.
The Mastermind releases on MUBI December 12.
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