In 'The Mastermind,' Josh O'Connor plays J.B., a judge's son who ineptly attempts to rob a Framingham museum, revealing his disconnection from reality. The film portrays his disastrous heist with a counterintuitive restraint, prioritizing character flaws over excitement. Rather than building tension through the robbery, Reichardt emphasizes the absurdity in J.B.'s choices, which reflect a broader commentary tied to the Vietnam War backdrop—a touchstone for J.B.'s blunderings, though it's not wholly an allegory for national issues.
"J.B. seems temperamentally incapable of even perceiving his mistakes. From a summary, 'The Mastermind' might sound like an uncharacteristically larky effort, but she approaches the proceedings with counterintuitive restraint."
"Not a single decision J.B. makes...is correct. Nothing gets your pulse racing in the robbery sequence, as there's a dark, slow grind of inevitability to watching everything go wrong."
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