MUBI has released the official trailer and artwork for The Mastermind, the latest film written and directed by Kelly Reichardt. Following its world premiere in Competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film arrives in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 24 October 2025.
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Set in Massachusetts in 1970, The Mastermind follows JB Mooney, played by Josh O’Connor, an unemployed carpenter who turns to art theft in pursuit of a quick score. He recruits a group of small-time criminals and sets his sights on a daring raid at a local museum. When the plan unravels, the heist’s aftermath consumes Mooney’s life and fractures the relationships around him.
The cast features O’Connor alongside Alana Haim as Mooney’s wife Terri, John Magaro, Gaby Hoffmann, Bill Camp, and Hope Davis. Reichardt, known for films such as First Cow, Meek’s Cutoff, and Showing Up, again places her focus on character and consequence rather than spectacle. In this film, the robbery occurs in the opening act, leaving the remainder to explore its fallout.
Like her previous work, Reichardt uses the heist genre as a frame to examine character detail and time. She situates the story in the quiet suburbs of New England, contrasting the everyday rhythm of family and community with the destabilizing effect of crime. Mooney’s circle includes his father, a respected judge, his generous mother, and his young sons. Their lives, shaped by his decisions, provide the narrative’s emotional core.
The film draws inspiration from real art thefts of the early 1970s, when museum security was less restrictive. Rather than target Old Masters, Reichardt has Mooney and his gang pursue abstract paintings by Arthur Dove. The choice ties the fictional crime to an artist whose work resonates with Reichardt and gives the story a distinctive artistic anchor.
Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt creates a palette rooted in the muted colors of the era, shifting into darker tones as Mooney’s life deteriorates. Music by Rob Mazurek, with contributions from Chad Taylor, adds a jazz-inflected score that underscores the film’s mood.
With its October 24 opening date, Reichardt’s film enters cinemas as one of the most notable art-house releases of the autumn season. Its Cannes premiere introduced it to festival audiences, and its theatrical run will bring the director’s distinct vision of crime, consequence, and 1970s America to a wider public.
