The Mastermind (2025)

With an artful eye and jazzy unpredictability, writer-director Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) unravels the threads of the heist film in this standout from Cannes.

In a sedate corner of Massachusetts circa 1970, JB Mooney (British actor Josh O’Connor) is an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief who is planning his first big heist. But when things go haywire, his life quickly unravels…

As an antihero kicking about on the brink of the ‘70s, Josh O’Connor (The Crown) is unmissable, lending rumpled discontent to this ironic, wry vision of American individualism.

“O’Connor is at his best yet”
The Standard ★★★★★

“Quietly superb”
Financial Times ★★★★★

“Josh O’Connor reinforces his status as an enigma of the era”
The Irish Times ★★★★

“Kelly Reichardt’s cool Seventies-set drama plays like a lo-fi spin on the traditional heist movie”
The Independent ★★★★