Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

A slow and steady heist that keeps your pulse in time with its jazzy 4/4 beat.

Set in the 1970s, a fledgling art thief quickly finds himself on the run when his flawless plan quickly to unravel.

There’s irony in calling Mooney (Josh O’Connor) a mastermind. In theory, he’s clever, but like many crowned but unproven ‘geniuses’, he struggles to interact with mere mortals. Unemployed and seemingly living off his parents and his wife, Mooney’s detachment from reality is both fascinating and frustrating. He craves stimulation, getting a thrill from stealing a small figurine or convincing his partners that his plan is bulletproof — but he never musters the same passion for his wife, his children, or the war simmering in the background.

The Vietnam War protests occurring around Mooney serve as a clever contrast to his domestic theoretical hippy. Sticking it to the man (his father, a well respected judge) by forging his own path (amateur art thief), refusing to bow to capitalism (but eager to take a cheque from his mum). It’s brilliant because *trigger warning* Mooney is just your average lazy white man, therefore his interiority becomes the quiet star of the film.

O’Connor’s performance is captivating. With a face like the Mona Lisa he keeps you guessing with the twitch of a lip or quirk of the brow. Among tangled sheets you want to lie with an arm propping up your head and ask a sleep dazed Mooney ‘What are you thinking about?’. You want to burrow into the warmth of mind and uncover the sudden motivation for his art heist dreams, because he gives you nothing. Arguably because there’s nothing to give but perhaps because there’s too much to say.

Despite the lively jazz score that cheats to illicit feelings of chaos, the film for the most part moves slowly — contemplative, deliberate, and quietly tense. Writer director Kelly Reichardt revelled in these moments. There is a scene where Mooney lovingly squirrelled away his stolen treasures. Taking them one by one out of a crate and up a ladder then one by one placing them back into the crate and finding his way down from his hiding place sans ladder.

Whether it is comedy or something deeper The Mastermind is like admiring a piece of art that reveals more the longer you look… Or perhaps it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Watched during BFI London Film Festival 2025