Overview
- Following its Oct. 17 theatrical release via MUBI, The Mastermind is now playing in theaters after a festival run.
- Reviews characterize the film as an anti‑heist, with the robbery arriving early and the story dwelling on its fallout and the protagonist’s drift.
- Josh O’Connor’s performance as James Blaine Mooney draws consistent praise for its magnetic, unglamorous specificity.
- Rob Mazurek’s jazzy score and Christopher Blauvelt’s period visuals are highlighted as key to the film’s tone and texture.
- Set in 1970 New England and inspired by the Worcester Art Museum case, the film folds personal unraveling into the era’s political undercurrents and a deliberately slow pace that may polarize viewers.