Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind (2025) | Film Review

The Mastermind (2025) Film Review 

In 1970, Mooney and two cohorts wander into a museum in broad daylight and steal four paintings. When holding onto the art proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney is relegated to a life on the run.

When I think of director Kelly Reichardt and her style of storytelling, heist movie doesn’t rush to mind. She is a master of slow cinema, the minimalist storyteller who values space, time and moments of subtlety. The Mastermind is all of those things with a toe tapping, jazz score accompanying every frame. 

The Mastermind is 20% heist and 80% Josh O’Connor delivering a naturalistic, charming performance of the aftermath. He’s cool, he’s calm, he’s unassuming and cast perfectly in this role. His character James is seeking thrill in his life, a representation of the lonely man seeking purpose within his life. James doesn’t thrive for the money, he lives for the narrative, the illusion of interest. Kelly Reichardt uses her films to dissect character archetypes, to inject realism into overplayed narratives. The Mastermind is a clear example of her love of the natural, this film is an observation of people and their behaviour, she lets the scene speak for itself and never rushes a moment for the viewers retainment, she let’s the scene and her actors breathe. 

One of the most compelling’ elements to ‘The Mastermind’, aside from O’Connor’s performance was the electric musical accompaniment. The score kept my interest throughout, it added tempo to the slow moments, it injected life into the minimalism, it added nail biting tension to otherwise uneventful scenes. Kelly Reichardt leaves her mark on this film, she analyses the characters, she deconstructs the genre and relishes in the slow pacing. The Mastermind will not be a film for everyone but it is most certainly a masterful addition to Reichardt’s filmography. 

The Mastermind is a slow burning heist film, imagine The Thomas Crown Affair in slow motion. 

PROBE POINTS

★★★