The Mastermind

From the director of Meek’s Cutoff and First Cow comes this inspired new take on the heist film. James (Josh O’Connor) is an art school dropout, sponging off his parents, galling his wife (Alana Haim) and believing his genius will surely grant him universal acclaim, in time. In the meanwhile, he hires some hoods to make an art theft. But James is far from a mastermind, and he soon finds himself perilously out of his depth. 

Kelly Reichardt, one of modern cinema’s most patient yet impactful filmmakers, adds another jewel to her glittering pile with this film, following modern classics such as Old Joy, Wendy & Lucy and Showing Up. O’Connor is superb, in a performance that sits closely besides La Chimera. What Reichardt drains out in cliché from the heist film, she adds back in with felt tension, the spark of real life. This is a slow burn portrait of a man spiralling, gripping to the last frame because of its fully realised characters.