The Worst Art Thief in America

"The director Kelly Reichardt encourages stillness. Her style-long takes and low stakes, often punctuated by unhurried silences-forces viewers to slow down, to immerse themselves in the atmosphere being created on-screen. Her movies can resemble landscape paintings, like those by the artist Arthur Dove. His work is featured in The Mastermind, her latest film, which mirrors the tableaus its protagonist covets: textured, abstract studies of reality that reveal their true potency over time."

"Set in 1970 in Massachusetts, the film follows J. B. as he hatches a plan to steal four of Dove's paintings from the (fictional) Framingham Museum of Art. His plot would make the likes of Danny Ocean cringe: It involves having two amateurs rob the exhibit in broad daylight without any plan to circumvent the security guards. The pair is then to deliver the goods to an undisguised J. B. idling in a car outside the front entrance."

Kelly Reichardt uses long takes, low stakes, and unhurried silences to slow viewers and immerse them in on-screen atmosphere. Her films take on painterly qualities, likened to Arthur Dove's textured, abstract landscapes; Dove's paintings appear in The Mastermind and mirror the protagonist's desires. The Mastermind follows James Blaine (J.B.) Mooney, an impatient, unemployed carpenter in 1970 Massachusetts who attempts to steal four Dove paintings from the Framingham Museum of Art. The bungled robbery fails immediately, and the film prioritizes the aftermath: J.B.'s clumsy flight, the trail of damaged relationships, and the gradual dismantling of his hubris through small selfish acts. The film balances quiet comedy with precise character study.

Read at The Atlantic