The Mastermind

“The Mastermind stands out for its character-driven narrative and immersiveness, but stereotypes are allowed to play out without interrogation.”

Title: The Mastermind (2025)
Director: Kelly Reichardt 👩🏼🇺🇸
Writer: Kelly Reichardt 👩🏼🇺🇸

Reviewed by Chris A. 👨🏻🇺🇸

Technical: 4/5

Academic journals often encourage reflexivity statements, in which authors explain how their identities and biases shape their findings. Along those lines, I adore Kelly Reichardt’s filmmaking, and she remains one of the few directors whose filmography I’ve seen in its entirety. Her character-driven stories unfold methodically and often depict nature and artwork through a provoking quietude. It’s the break from the dopamine conveyor belt of shorts and reels fed to us by our tech overlords (praise be).

I was so very hyped to see the “modern master of ‘slow cinema’”’s latest work. But in the name of reflexivity—I wish I hadn’t agreed to write this review. I find myself wanting to score it as highly as possible, but its negative portrayal of people of color surprised me.

The Mastermind follows James (Josh O’Connor), an unemployed middle-aged suburban dad who orchestrates an art heist at his local museum. In typical Reichardt style, James’ motives are unclear at first but reveal themselves throughout the film. The plot kept me hooked! I had no idea how things would turn out right up until the end.

The film bears all the Reichardt hallmarks. A period piece set in Framingham, MA, in 1970, The Mastermind immerses viewers through meticulous sets, costumes, and props. Characters drink beer out of cans with pull tabs, and every car and billboard seems period-appropriate. The deliberate pacing is classic Reichardt, too. In long takes with no dialogue or score, we watch James set up a ladder to a loft, unbox several stolen paintings, carry two up to the loft, climb down, grab the remaining paintings, climb them up, climb down again, grab the box and climb back up with it, accidentally kick the ladder over (leaving no way back down), sigh, re-box the paintings, finally hide them under a mound of straw, then awkwardly dismount into the pigsty below. Chef’s kiss, no notes.

On the other hand, the soundtrack feels a little off. A jazzy melody initially helps build tension around the heist, but it plays for what seems like an oddly long time, following the characters into scene after scene and growing less and less appropriate.

Nevertheless, The Mastermind stands out for its deliberate, character-driven narrative, its immersion, and its stillness. If only the review could end here!

Gender: 3.25/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE

Reichardt’s stories often center women in lead roles and usually engage with feminist themes and perspectives. Showing Up (2022) starred Michelle Williams (a regular lead in Reichardt’s films), supported by Hong Chao. Both play art students working towards their final theses, depicted as hard-working, creative, sardonic, and multidimensional. It definitely passed the Bechdel Test. I loved Certain Women (2016) too, a triptych of short films led by Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and Kristen Stewart + Lily Gladstone. Another Gaze says of the characters, “You’ll want to watch them forever.”

And yet, The Mastermind has women only in supporting roles, some of which veer into stereotypes. Sarah (Hope Davis), James’ mother, seems easily manipulated by her son. In one scene, she acquiesces to him, convinced by his lie that he needs a loan to kickstart a carpentry job (his supposed career) and unwittingly finances his heist. Terri (Alana Haim), James’ stay-at-home wife, also unknowingly aids her husband’s crimes and attacks him in anger as their home life begins to deteriorate in the aftermath of the heist.

Maude (Gabby Hoffmann), the partner of James’ friend Fred (John Magaro), fares a bit better. When James goes on the run and crashes their rural home life, Maude calls him out for implicating them in his crime. She explains that James needs to leave while also hoping things turn out okay for him. Maude’s character feels most closely aligned with the more complex depictions of women in Reichardt’s other films. It left me wishing that The Mastermind featured more women like her.

Race: 1/5

The cast is almost entirely white. One of the only characters of color—Ronnie (Javion Allen), a Black robber in James’ crew—is depicted as unhinged. He’s also the only member of the crew who’s said to abuse drugs. During a heist in which James had warned his partners not to involve firearms, Ronnie not only brings a gun, but he uses it to threaten a young white girl who wanders into their crime scene. Later, he snitches on James to the police, siccing the cops on his former teammate.

The harms of negative stereotyping of Black men in media are well supported. It reinforces negative attitudes and victim-blaming among the public. It harms Black children’s self-esteem, academic performance, and mental health outcomes. I can’t see why Ronnie’s character needed to be Black. The character’s race is never discussed, and the stereotypes are allowed to play out without interrogation.

Bonus for age: +0.50

James’ parents (played by Hope Davis and Bill Camp, both 61 at the time of this review) feature in several family scenes. During an uncomfortable dinner, James’ father highlights the accomplishments of one of James’ friends, also a carpenter. This needles James for his inability to find work, effectively setting up his motive for the heist. Mentioned earlier, Davis’ most notable scene occurs when James convinces her to loan him the money that ultimately facilitates the heist. I liked the acting here and Davis’ performance throughout.

Mediaversity Grade: C 2.92/5

After over-academizing this review by going on about reflexivity statements and subsequently glazing Kelly Reichardt, I’m wondering who comes out ahead in the end. Is it me for having to come to grips with the fact that a director whose films I adore made a problematic casting decision? Is it the film, for getting a reviewer who came in rooting it, who might have scored the technical section a little higher than a lesser fanboi? At the time of publication, The Mastermind has a 90% critic rating and a 51% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With divisiveness like that, maybe it’s you, dear reader, who comes out ahead for at least getting a take that’s striving for honesty and transparency, typical of the content you might expect from reviewers at Mediaversity 🫵🏽 (cue the heist music).

Like The Mastermind? Try these other slow-burn character studies.

Grade: CLiFebruary 1, 2026Female/Nonbinary Creator, Great for: Age